The Journey of Opposites
by islaty13
Summary: What happens when two, very different trainers travel across Sinnoh together? Will they take part in a genuine friendship? Only time will tell. New chapters posted every Friday after 3:00 pm Pacific Time.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, dear viewers. Before you continue reading, I would like to say that this story is a collaboration between the author Mercavez and myself. Please check out his profile if you enjoy this story. You might even like his story that he's working on. It is also Pokémon related and quite original in my opinion. Thank you for your time.**_

Chapter 1

The sun rose above the small town of Twinleaf, shining down on all its sleeping inhabitants except for one. A young trainer who was eager to begin her life journey.

This trainer had woken up before the sun to have a head start on her packing. She knew well that a prepared trainer was the best trainer. After packing a set of extra clothes and all other necessities into a bag, the purple eyed trainer went to her mirror to assure she was dressed right for the day ahead of her.

She wore her favorite purple shirt under a short sleeved cropped blue jacket. She wore fingerless gloves that reached past her elbows and matched the color of her shirt. The trainer also wore round bracelets that was a lighter shade of blue than that of her jacket. She also wore jeans and a belt held them up nicely. The purple and black boots the trainer wore were perfect for the long walk that waited for her. The trainer tied her dark blue, waist length hair into a braid, leaving her bangs in front of her face.

Feeling anxious, the young trainer adjusted her bracelets to calm down her feelings. Knowing she was ready, the trainer reached for her bag as there was a knock on her bedroom door. The trainer turned towards the door noticing the black headed female.

"Good morning, my little gem. I see you're ready early for today. Did you even sleep last night, my dear?" The young trainer smiled.

"Morning, Mother. I did sleep, but it took awhile. I'm really excited for today. I finally get my own pokemon! I want to get there as soon as possible." The blue eyed mother watched her daughter walk out the room to the kitchen.

"Well, maybe you should wait a little while longer. I know it's quite a ways to Professor Rowan's lab, but I think you might get there before the professor does." The young trainer headed towards a cabinet and pulled out a bowl. "Well I wasn't going to leave just yet. I was gonna eat some cereal really quick and then head off." The young trainer grabbed a box of cereal and began to make her breakfast. She poured milk in the bowl and sat down. Her mother gave her a gentle smile.

"Alright then but I still think you should slow down a bit. Maybe you could go meet the new neighbors a few houses down. I heard there was a young boy about your age. You could take him to see the professor." The young trainer shook her head as she chewed her cereal.

"I don't think so, Mother. I don't want a newbie slowing me down." The blue eyed woman gave a look of disapproval.

"Now Topaz, I know you're excited, but that is no way to speak about a person. Your father and I have raised you better." Topaz looked down at her cereal.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather just go alone. Maybe on one of my visits back home I can meet the new guy." Topaz's mother sighed.

"Have it your way. I might as well wake up Cecilia so that you can at least say goodbye to her before you go." Topaz nodded and continued to eat as her mother went back upstairs. After finishing, Topaz got up and washed her dishes. By the time she was done, her mother came back to the kitchen with her sister in her arms.

"Be careful as you make it to Sandgem Town." Topaz nodded.

"I will. Bye, Mother. Bye, Cici." Topaz said this as she gave a kiss to both her mother and her drowsy baby sister. The small red head just let out a sleepy grunt as sister walked away. Topaz gave a final wave of goodbye as she closed the front door behind her.

The sun rose over the dimly lit sky, slowly pushing away the darkness as it signified the beginning of a new day.

One trainer was up and ready to greet this sun, today was a significant day after all. He had dressed himself in his black jeans and yellow hoodie. He walked down stairs while combing his short brown hair. As he walked into the living room he spotted his mother, sitting casually with the family Arcanine.

"How long have you been up?" Sulfur had asked surprised.

She looked into his golden yellow eyes, just coming to terms with her only son leaving. But he couldn't stay forever as much as she would want him to.

She smiled. "Not long. Did you really think i was going to miss your departing?"

Sulfur shook his head. "No, of course not. I kinda expected as much. But I have to go now if i'm gonna make it in time."

"You're always early. Why not have some breakfast before you head out?" She offered.

He began to walk towards the door, adamant on not diverting from his schedule. "Thanks Mom, but I already packed what I needed, including food."

Before he opened the door, his mother called to him one last time. "Sulfur, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What? Of course not." He responded. "I planned out everything yesterday"

Just then, he felt a small tug at his leg. A small, green haired Pokémon, known as Ralts, was the culprit of such action.

"Ren? What are you doing?" Sulfur asked confused.

"She wants to go with you." His mother interjected. "Just take her. It's not like an extra pokemon is a bad thing. She'll look after you."

Sulfur looked down on Ren. She looked just as eager as him to go out on a journey.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't be that bad." Sulfur said extending his arm.

Ren grabbed on as Sulfur lifted her up to his head where she stayed.

With one final look back to his mother, Sulfur spoke. "Right then, Mom. Thanks for everything. I'll see you later."

Sulfur walked out the door leaving his mother to reflect. It would be a dangerous world she let Sulfur loose in it, but she wasn't too worried. She had told Ren to go along with Sulfur last night in order to look after him. So long as those two were together, nothing too bad could happen. Still, she would continue to hope for the best and keep the house cozy just in case he visited.

The Arcanine whined at his master.

"Oh, they'll be fine. If they get into trouble, at least they won't be in at it alone."

The sun had finally set its place in the sky where it was able to remove all traces of dawn. The rookie trainer, Sulfur, was making his way to Sandgem, actively avoiding patches of grass when possible. Ren was acting as Sulfur's scout by grabbing onto his head and spotting wild Pokémon to avoid.

Sulfur was making his way to Sandgem Town in order to pick up a starter Pokémon. The lead professor of the lab was giving away starter Pokémon to those who would help him complete research of the native pokemon around Sinnoh. As soon as Sulfur heard about this, he jumped at the opportunity to go out on a journey.

Sulfur's father was a police officer in Hoenn when on one call he lost his life to a rampaging Pokémon. The news hit Sulfur hard and since then became scared of any Pokémon he met. That is until one day he met the small Ralts known as Ren. While playing outside, the two grew to be close friends and it helped Sulfur get over his phobia of Pokémon. Unfortunately, it came raging back when the two were attacked by a wild Mightyena. Seeing his injured friend, Sulfur promised himself he'd grow up to be strong enough to protect anyone who couldn't protect themselves.

After an hour of the duo's ever vigilant sneaking, they were able to make it to where they needed to be. Sulfur walked into the clean laboratory where scientists were too invested in their research to notice he had let himself in. Sulfur decided to walk up to one of the researchers.

"Hey, is there a Professor Rowan here?" Sulfur asked.

"He's in the back. The old geezer with grey hair and huge mustache." replied the researcher, not even bothering to look up from the book he was reading.

"Right...thanks."

With that, Sulfur and Ren made their way to the back to greet the head researcher.

"Excuse me, I'm here about-" Sulfur was cut short by another person making their way through the door.

After taking a deep breath, Topaz started to sprint towards Sandgem. She was incredibly eager to start her own journey and was determined to stay focus on her goal.

Topaz had grown up in Sinnoh. With her father being a Pokémon Ranger, she knew the region better than anyone. As a child, she wanted nothing more than to follow her father's footsteps. Although her mother was a former coordinator, Topaz never seemed to be as interested in contests as she was in gym battles. Today was her great start and nothing was going to stop her.

Once Topaz had gotten safely through the route, she stopped at the entrance to take in the town. After a moment, she made her way to the lab.

Upon entering, she noticed all the scientists busy at work, or just plainly ignoring her. She did the same and headed towards the Professor's office. She didn't bother much with knocking and casually opened the door.

"-m here about-" As Topaz stood in the office doorway, she had interrupted another trainer that was speaking to the Professor.

"Uh, oops. I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone else was in here other than the Professor." The male trainer turned to face Topaz, showing signs of annoyance.

"Ah, you two are here about my search for trainers to help me with my research, I'm assuming." said the Professor as he stood up from his desk.

"That is correct." Sulfur answered.

"Speak for yourself, Goldie. I just came here to pick my starter and move on." Topaz replied.

"Whatever the reason may be, we can get you started here." The Professor interjected. He made his way to another side of his office where a long table seemed to be prepared for the occasion of the day. He motioned both trainers and Pokémon to the table as he opened a separate cabinet and pulled out three pokeballs.

"Young man, why don't you pick first." offered the professor, motioning towards the table.

"Don't mind if i do." Sulfur looked over the three pokeballs. Topaz waited impatiently as he did so.

Within each one was Chimchar, Turtwig, and Piplup. Ren stared intently at each of the sleeping Pokémon within. Sulfur took a deep breath, and reached out to grab the small Turtwig.

"You're picking Turtwig? It's a Pokémon that is easy to raise." The Professor commented.

Sulfur looked back. "Yes, i pick Turtwig."

Rowan simply nodded. "Young lady, it's your turn. " Topaz gave a smile.

"Well lucky me. My choice is Chimchar." Topaz said as she grabbed Chimchar's pokeball.

"Very well then, may I present you with your trainer IDs, and Sulfur, since you are new, here is your research tool, the pokedex. With this you will be able catalog any pokemon you meet. Fill it up then bring it to me, understand?" The Professor said while handing Sulfur a small red device.

"Of course." Sulfur responded. "I'll have every pokemon registered and brought to you as soon as possible."

"Right then, may both of your journeys be filled with excitement." The Professor went back to his prior research and put away the unchosen Piplup.

"Thank you, Professor Rowan." Topaz said and quickly headed out the door.

With a last wave Sulfur made his way out as well. Once Topaz got outside, she allowed her Chimchar to be free from his pokeball. The fire ape Pokémon blinked a few times and looked up to Topaz. Topaz crouched down to speak to the Pokémon.

"Well, looks like it's you and me on this adventure so let's give you a name. Do you like Achi?" The gave a look of approval as he climbed onto his trainer's shoulder. Topaz smiled. "Alright then, let's go!" Topaz and Achi quickly began their way towards Route 202.

Sulfur examined the Turtwig as it stared back at him confused, mostly for having a Ralts on his head.

"Your name will be Walter." Sulfur quickly decided.

Seeing no problems with this, Turtwig agreed to the new name. Recalling the Turtwig to its pokeball, Sulfur also made his way to Route 202.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Haduken**

Around noon, Sulfur and his Pokémon had peacefully made it halfway to Jubilife City. There was no sign of the female trainer from earlier, but that didn't bother Sulfur too much. What was really important was starting to fill the pokedex as soon as possible. Ren looked over Sulfur's shoulder, taking a look at the strange device in her friend's hands. Sulfur grabbed Ren off his shoulders by the head and began to scan her. Ren showed clear signs of discomfort. A short few seconds later, an entry had been made to his pokedex.

"Ralts, the feeling Pokémon. Ralts uses the horns on its head to read people and Pokémon's emotions. It is known to inhabit urban areas, but it does not normally show itself to humans. However, when it senses happy feelings, it will approach people. If its trainer is in a cheerful mood, it also becomes cheerful and joyous. If it senses warm feelings, its body will slightly warm up. It takes cover if it senses hostility."

Sulfur paused to pull out his new companion. In a flash of white light, the small Turtwig materialized in front of him. Sulfur turned his pokedex to the Turtwig in front of him.

"Turtwig, the tiny leaf Poké 's shell has a thick black stripe and a black rim. On a very healthy Turtwig, the shell should feel moist. A small seedling grows on a brown patch on its head. This seedling will wilt if the Pokémon becomes thirsty. As a plant-based Pokémon, Turtwig usually nourishes itself through photosynthesis. It also drinks water, which hardens its soil-based shell. Due to its status as a starter Pokémon, a wild Turtwig is hard to come by and it is generally found under the ownership of trainers."

"Wow, looks like you're pretty rare, aren't you buddy?" Sulfur smiled down on Walter.

"aaah!" Walter cried out happily.

A rustling sound could be heard from just up ahead. Everyone got into position to prepare to defend themselves from whatever challenger attempted to attack them. Suddenly, a Shinx jumped out into the open.

"A new specimen to examine! Let's see what mysteries you unlock." Sulfur said pulling out his pokedex.

Before Sulfur's pokedex had a chance to scan the wild Pokémon, the Shinx disappeared, leaving a pokeball in its place.

"...What the fuck!" Sulfur was in total disbelief.

"YES! Chasing that Shinx for half an hour was totally worth it!" Topaz jumped through the same bushes and pick up the pokeball. "Nice work, Achi." As Topaz called out as a Chimchar was close behind her. Achi climbed up to his place on Topaz's shoulder and she placed the newly obtained pokeball on her belt. Topaz then took notice of Sulfur. "Oh, hey Goldie."

"Oh. It's you." replied Sulfur, slightly annoyed at the sudden interruption. He put away his pokedex. "If you'll excuse me, I have places to be." Topaz rolled her eyes.

"Right, like I was planning on staying in this route forever. I already got what I came here for. See you around, Goldie." With that, Topaz turned towards Jubilife City and ran off.

Sulfur gave an annoyed sigh and recalled Walter. "Well, we might as well be on our way too right, Ren?"

Ren gave a small smile and the two began walking in the same direction of the excited trainer moments ago.

After she reached the end of the route, Topaz slowed down at the entrance of the big city. The city thrived with its many broadcasts and there was a screen on nearly every corner.

Topaz quickly focused on making her way to the Pokémon Center. The trip had made her tired and Topaz knew well that her Pokémon also deserved rest.

Upon entering the center, Topaz recalled Achi to his pokeball and handed over both Pokémon to Nurse Joy. In order to waste time, Topaz walked out the center and made her way towards the Pokemart.

Topaz walked in the mart and examined all the wares. She made her way to the medical aisle. She tried to find some of the more cheaper potions. Upon finding some, Topaz grabbed three and went down another aisle. She scanned the shelves until she found a small pouch filled with pokeballs. She made her way to the counter and waited in line. After paying for her items, Topaz placed everything into her bag and left the store. She took her time returning to the Pokémon Center, recollecting her thoughts along the way.

When she reentered the center, Topaz decided to head for the food court and eat something. In all her excitement, Topaz hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. After buying some food, she found a place to eat and relax. When she had finished eating, Topaz went back to Nurse Joy to retrieve her Pokémon. However, when she made it back to the front, Topaz once again bumped into a familiar face.

"Oh. It's you. Again." Sulfur stared blankly back at Topaz while giving Nurse Joy his Turtwig.

"Yeah, as if it was fun to see your face, too." Topaz replied back as she received Chimchar and Shinx.

"As much as I would love to listen to your attitude problem," Sulfur turned to look at Nurse Joy, "I need a room, ma'am."

"Of course. Here you are." Nurse Joy handed Sulfur a small key. "Your room is number 16, down the hall."

Sulfur graciously took the key "Thank you, ma'am."

Nurse joy turned to Topaz. "Do you need a room also, miss?"

"Yes, please." Topaz replied. Nurse Joy did the same thing and gave Topaz a key.

"Your room number is 17, right next door." Nurse Joy said with a smile.

"Thank you." Topaz took her key and turned back to face Sulfur. "So, Goldie, what made you follow me all the way to Jubilife?"

"I'm on my way to Oreburgh for a gym battle." Sulfur replied simply. Topaz raised an eyebrow in surprised.

"Really? I didn't think you'd be interested in battling." Topaz replied.

"I gotta fill up this pokedex somehow, and meeting lots of Pokémon in gym battles is sure to boost my dex entries." Sulfur said while still fiddling with his small device.

"You really think you'll have enough time to record every new Pokémon you meet when you're in the middle of a battle? I'm not sure you know your way in a battle, Goldie. "

"There's always time to record a new entry, primarily after i beat my opponents into the ground of course." Sulfur smiled. "Besides, it's not like you're more experienced than I am."

"Oh really? Well I like to see you try and take down that gym leader. Tomorrow. You. Me. We head for Oreburgh in the morning." Topaz demanded.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Let's go, Ren." Sulfur said, running to his room while the little Ralts attempted her best to hold on.

"Yea, we'll see." Topaz said to herself. She walked to her own room and waited for morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Woods**

It was a new day as the two recently acquainted trainers made their way to Oreburgh and their first gym battle. Topaz was leading the way as Sulfur was documenting some Psyducks in a nearby pond. Topaz let out a sigh as she walked up to Sulfur.

"Do you really have to stop and record every new Pokémonyou see?" Topaz asked impatiently.

"If I don't, I'll end up with gaps in the pokedex. Besides, it's nothing more than a short scan." Sulfur responded. Topaz grew more annoyed.

"I just want to make it to Oreburgh before it gets dark." Topaz said as she folded her arms.

"Relax. If my calculations are correct, we'll get there with enough time to eat dinner and get a place to stay." Sulfur said nonchalantly. Topaz rolled her eyes.

"You can be so annoying with your nerd talk." Topaz replied back.

"And you need to learn to relax. Oreburg isn't going anywhere and with your..." Sulfur stared at the small ape on Topaz's shoulder. "less...than well thought out pick, I'm sure you'll need to train a bit before you take down a rock type gym."

"I know what I did. And I don't regret it. I know I can still beat that gym with my Pokémon." Topaz replied.

"Well, if you think you can, I won't get in your…hold on a second." Sulfur stared intently into some tall grass off the side of the road.

"What is it?" Topaz asked.

"Look closer." Sulfur pointed at some slightly moving brush. Topaz looked over to where Sulfur was pointing. After some staring, she realized what was in the bushes.

"Sulfur, don't move. It might flee." Topaz warned softly.

"Right. All I gotta do is get close enough to scan it and this sucker is mine." Sulfur said while opening the pokedex. Moving silently, he inched closer and closer taking care not to alarm the Abra that had just appeared.

"Careful. It may sense you." Topaz whispered out.

*Just a little closer.* Sulfur thought to himself. The pokedex continued to blink out of range as Sulfur got closer. Finally, the pokedex began its scanning program.

"Choo!" Ren sneezed loudly, alarming the Abra who suddenly teleported away.

"Son of a-...alright. It's no problem. I'll just track it down." Sulfur said in an attempt to calm himself. Ren stared down at her feet in shame. "Don't worry about it Ren. Accidents happen." Topaz walked over to Sulfur.

"As I'm sure you already know this but there's almost no way you'll be able to track down that Abra. Those Pokémon are so elusive, I probably have a better chance at beating the rock type gym with a fire type than we do at finding that Abra." Sulfur stood up defiantly.

"Ah! But you forgot one thing! I just so happen to have a Pokémon tracker with me right now!" Topaz folded her arms and gave Sulfur a sarcastic look. She glanced at Ren and then back at Sulfur as she spoke.

"Are you referring to the little sneeze bag near your leg right now?" Ren made an annoyed cry.

"Ren." Sulfur corrected. "And yes. She has the ability to sense the emotions of humans and Pokémon around her. All Ren has to do is sense the feeling of fear and it'll lead us right to it!" Topaz let out a long sigh.

"Fine. I guess we'll do this your way. The sooner we find that Abra, the sooner we get back on track."

"Right. Ren do your thing." Sulfur commanded. Ren began to focus and sense emotions all around her. Emotions of all kinds came from all around as she attempted to make sense of it all. Finally, she noticed one emotion stand out. A frightened Abra hidden within the brush.

"RiRi!" Ren called out and pointed in the direction of the Abra.

"Good girl! Let's go record his entry. You too, Rocky!" Sulfur said as he grabbed Ren off the ground and made his way in the direction she pointed in. Topaz was not amused at her attempted new nickname.

"That...that doesn't even… at least mine was clever and made sense." She slowly followed the excited duo running away from her.

An Abra sat in the middle a small clearing, weary of being chased around by some humans. Sulfur was crouched and hidden just outside the clearing. With one final nod to his partner, he lept out of his bush and pulled out his pokedex, ready to scan. The Abra reacted quickly, jumping and using Sulfur's face as a springboard. Topaz was right behind Sulfur and was ready to complete her part of the plan.

"Now, Achi! Ember!" Specks of fire flew out of the small ape's mouth, striking down the wild Abra. This allowed a small opening for Sulfur. "Hurry and scan it before it comes to!" Topaz yelled at Sulfur.

"Here we go!" Sulfur quickly aimed the pokedex at the Abra and began to scan it. The Abra immediately began to stand, and in a flash of white light, it was gone.

"Did you get it?" Topaz walked over to Sulfur with Achi on her shoulder.

"Hell yeah! I got every single pokemon on this route!"

"Well, that's good. Anyways, we should find a better place to camp out. We still have to get through a cave and I seriously don't feel like sleeping in a cave." Topaz said as she looked at the sky.

"Hm, you've gotta point. Guess my calculations didn't account for the variable Abra, did it?" Sulfur said with a smile. "Well this is a clearing. I'd say this is the perfect spot to set up camp." Topaz shrugged.

"Alright then. You go find some water, I'll get the wood for a fire. Try to be in less than ten minutes." With that, Topaz and Achi went deeper into the wood part of the route.

The fire pit in the center of the clearing shone brightly, warding off the darkness that was the night. Both Sulfur and Topaz sat quietly staring into the flames of the crackling dry wood that lay before them.

"So, this would have to come up eventually. Why did you decide to journey?" Topaz looked at Sulfur and then back at the fire.

"Just wanted to do the same thing my dad did when he was young. He went all over Sinnoh and discovered what he wanted to do. I just want the same for myself."

"That's pretty reasonable. I haven't decided on what I wanna do yet though." Sulfur said staring at the sky.

"Well, you might like battling. It's not that bad."

"Well yeah, but that's not the main reason I'm out here." Sulfur looked back down to his hands.

"I know. You just want to fill up the pokedex. You told me, remember?"

"Well it's not...yes but it's a little more complicated than that, you see. Ever since I was a little kid, I was really afraid of Pokémon. So much, I wouldn't even go outside. That is until i met Ren." Sulfur paused to pet the sleeping Ralts on his thigh. "I told myself I'd be stronger and get over my handicap by meeting as many Pokémon as i can. This pokedex stuff is exactly the excuse I was looking for." Topaz looked over to Sulfur and gave him a confused face.

"Filling up a pokedex isn't going to take away your fear. Sure you'll meet lots of Pokémon but the pokedex isn't going to help you interact with the Pokémon."

"Well, I know just scanning them isn't going to do much, but as I go on I'll catch a few more, battle, and eventually that'll all be behind me." Sulfur responded.

"Maybe, but there could be something better for you than just battling."

"Maybe, huh? Well, if beating the crap out of things I'm scared of by using said things doesn't get rid of my fear, then I don't know what will." Sulfur said jokingly. Topaz shrugged.

"If that's how you feel, I won't stop you."

"Heh, thanks." Topaz gave a nod and grabbed her bag. She pulled a folded up sleeping bag and spread it on the ground.

"We should go to sleep now. It's really late."

"Yeah you're right. We're gonna need to get up early tomorrow to make up for lost time." Sulfur said picking up his sleeping Ralts in his arm while pulling out his own sleeping bag. "I'll see you in the morning."

With that, the two trainers retreated to their respective sleeping bags and drifted off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Cave of Hot Wings and More**

"Hey. Hey, Sulfur. Sulfur, wake up. Wake up. Wake up, Sulfur. It's morning. Hey. The sun is up and so should you. Come on. Wake up." Topaz was well awake and crouched over near Sulfur. She was poking his face as she spoke to him.

"Get away from me." Sulfur said groggily. "You're just like an annoying fairy."

"Fairies don't exist, Goldie, so get up." Topaz stood up and walked over to her bag. Achi was also out of his pokeball.

Sulfur stood up and stretched out his limbs as he greeted the new day. The two trainers began packing their things into their bags in order to start their journey to reach Oreburgh and obtain the first gym badge.

"You ready? We better leave now if we want to get to Oreburgh before dark again. I know you're going to take forever scanning Pokémon again." Topaz closed her bag and allowed Achi to climb her shoulder.

"Oh, be quiet. It's not that , it's the last stretch before we get to Oreburgh so it's very unlikely we don't arrive by sunset." Sulfur said picking up his bag in one hand and Ren in the other.

"Yup, that's exactly what I thought yesterday, yet here we are." Topaz replied as she turned toward the direction of Oreburgh City.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go." Sulfur said following close behind.

After a short walk, the two rookie trainers finally made it to Oreburgh Gate, the cave separating them from their first gym battle. Sulfur rifled through his bag and pulled out a flashlight.

"Alright then, Rocky, pull out your flashlight and we'll get going." Sulfur said. Topaz looked over to Achi and motioned him to move off her shoulder.

"You heard the nerd. Lead us out of here, Achi." The small fire Pokémon jumped off Topaz and walked in front of both trainers.

"I should've known you'd be unprepared. Enough wasting time, let's head through." Sulfur entered the cave along side his sleepy Ralts.

"It's not being unprepared if I knew I was getting a fire Pokémon, thus a packed in flashlight. Also, you need to come up with a more clever nickname for me. It's not as creative as you might think."

"I don't think you had this cave in mind when you picked the Chimchar. I could call you a microcephalic adopte, but you probably wouldn't know what that means. So I called you something you'd understand." The two continued to argue as they traveled through the cave.

"And this is the point where I wish I could punch you in the face." Topaz replied back angrily.

What the two had failed to notice, was their back and forth woke a small colony of Zubat.

"Looks like your gonna have to put that boxing match to the side for now." Sulfur said looking up at the beast they had just awoken. Topaz looked up as well as she replied back to Sulfur.

"I'm still blaming you for all this."

"Oh shut up and battle already." Sulfur said. "Ren! Use confusion!"

The sleepy Ralts sprang into action as it sent small pink waves towards the attacking Zubats, several of them fell to the ground in pain.

"Achi, ember, now!" The fire Pokémon did as his trainer commanded and launched flecks of fire at another small group of Zubats.

"Nice one, that wasn't so hard." Sulfur commented.

Their victory was short lived however as more and more Zubats began pouring out of the deeper innards of the cave. Sulfur and Topaz looked in horror of the massive blood sucking Pokémon flying around.

"This...is where we run." Sulfur quickly picked up Ren and began to sprint out of the cave.

"Well, I'm not arguing with that logic. C'mon, Achi!" Topaz and the Chimchar chased after Sulfur, leaving behind the Zubats.

The two quickly ran out of the cave. Moments later, they burst through the cave exit. Topaz stopped to catch her breath as she looked over at Sulfur.

"Are you alright over there?"

"I think so." Sulfur said laying on his back breathing heavily. "Oh Arceus, please tell me we made it." Topaz walked over to Sulfur and sadly looked down on him.

"Do you want me to carry you to the Pokémon Center?" Topaz asked.

"Yeah, no thanks. Knowing you'd throw me off a cliff first chance you got." Sulfur said standing up along side Ren who gave Topaz a dirty look. Topaz shook her head.

"Why must you take away all my fun?" Topaz picked up Achi and headed for the center.

"Not fun for me." Sulfur said to himself, picking up Ren and following close behind. "Oreburgh huh? Well it looks like a mining town alright."

"It's definitely not a unicorn town, that's for sure." Topaz replied back sarcastically. She then entered into the center, making her way to the counter.

"Excuse me, we'd like to have our Pokémon healed please." Sulfur gave Ren over the counter as Topaz did the same with Achi.

"May we also get separate rooms for the night?" Topaz asked.

"Of course. Here you go. Rooms 11 and 12." Nurse Joy handed a key to both trainers.

"So what now? You wanna head to the gym?" Sulfur asked.

"I think we should go and schedule our battles with the gym leader." Topaz suggested.

"Alright, let's flip a coin to see who gets to go first." Sulfur pulled out a coin from his pocket and flipped it in the air. "Call it."

"Tails." Topaz said as the coin fell into Sulfur's hand. She leaned over towards Sulfur to see if she had won.

The coin had infact landed on tails claiming Topaz to be the victor.

"Stupid coin. Fine, looks like you get first dibs." Sulfur said a little bitterly. Topaz laughed.

"Ha, ha! You lose! Now let's go!" Topaz went back to Nurse Joy and then started for the exit as she cheered.

"Alright, just wait up. I'm coming too" Sulfur grabbed Ren from Nurse Joy and followed Topaz out the door.

After a short walk across the small town, they came across a building that stood out from the rest. The tall brown roofed building had the league's signature half pokeball sign at the entrance signifying its status as a gym.

"Hey, Topaz. I know you like you Chimchar, but I think we need to set up a strategy for you before we head in there." Sulfur took at his pokedex. "With a move set of scratch, leer, and ember...not exactly the best of odds." Topaz turned towards Sulfur.

"Alright then, Goldie. What do you suggest?"

"Let me see your Shinx's pokeball." Sulfur asked.

"Right." Topaz pulled out a pokeball and held it out to Sulfur.

Sulfur gave the ball a short scan and looked over it as well. "Tackle, lear, and charge. Not much better." Sulfur said. "Your best chance is to use leer to weaken your opponent."

"Alright then. I'll try that." Topaz entered the building and went to what seemed like a reception counter. "Excuse me, but I would like to schedule a battle against Roark."

"You're in luck. Roark is open for a battle right away. Are you interested?" The worker at the desk offered.

"That is perfect. I'll take it." Topaz replied back excitedly.

"Please head through the the doors, Roark is waiting." The receptionist motioned towards the double doors. Topaz happily walked through the doors, feeling quite confident. Sulfur followed suit.

The outside design of the building did not do the gym justice as the inside was a huge battle ground for any trainer who challenged the gym. Large rocks lay throughout the entire arena and two large bleachers on each side stood for any onlookers.

At the opposite end of the battlefield, a man stepped out of a back room wearing mining attire.

"Well, hello there! I'm Roark. So, you came to challenge me and my rock types did you?" Topaz walked over the opposite side of the battle field and pulled out Ray's pokeball.

"You bet I did! And I'm planning to win."

"You got a lot of fire in you. I like that. But you're about to learn fire can't defeat a rock solid offence."

Roark smiled.

Sulfur ran over to take his seat in the bleachers and like always, retreated his pokedex. Ren took her prime seat on his head and Walter was sent out to watch the battle.

Roark pulled out a pokeball. "Get ready for my rock hard attack! Go Geodude!" Roark sent out his Geodude who looked ready for action.

"Ray! Let's go!" Topaz threw her pokeball and the small Shinx appeared on the battlefield. "Alright, Ray! Start with leer!" Ray stared down Geodude as hard as he could.

"Oh no you don't! Geodude use rock throw!" The Geodude dug its fingers into the ground and ripped out a chunk of rock then proceeded to launch it at the Shinx.

Shinx could not move out of the way in time as the rock smashed into him unforgivingly.

"Ray!" The small blue Pokémon stood back up, signaling he was ready for another attack. "Alright then. Ray, let's go with another leer." Ray was confused by his trainer's command but once again stared down the rock Pokémon.

"Geodude! Use stealth rock!" The Geodude was becoming unsure from the stares but set the rocks like Roark commanded. Topaz became slightly flustered when the rocks appeared. She decided to call out an actual attack.

"Ray, tackle!" The Shinx was pleased to finally attack. He started running towards the rock Pokémon, determined not to miss. Once the attack landed, Ray jumped back to his place. However, it didn't seem like the Geodude took much damage.

Sulfur stared at his pokedex looking over the battlefield. Shinx had taken a lot of damage but it seemed the leers were failing to make any significant difference. Ren and walter looked on crying out in support for Ray who had taken a beating.

"Topaz! You're gonna need to go on the offensive! Its defense is to high!" Sulfur informed.

Roark laughed. "Now you see the damaging power rock! Now let's finish this!" Geodude launched another rock. Ray had swiftly moved out of the way learning from his mistakes.

"Alright, let's change it up. Ray use bite!" The blue Pokémon ran towards the rock Pokémon and bared his fangs. Ray then launched himself and bit down onto Geodude's arm.

Wincing in pain, the Geodude swung its arms around, attempting to shake the Shinx off.

"Geodude!" Roark called out. "Use rock throw!" The geodude smashed a rock into Ray's face, knocking him off.

"Finish it!" Roark yelled out determined.

Not giving Ray time to recover, Geodude threw one final rock,crushing the small Shinx. Ray had fainted.

Sulfur again looked to his pokedex. Shinx was down, but the Geodude was tired from the battle. Thus, it wasn't looking good for Topaz.

Walter and Ren cried out in worry as they saw Ray lose brutally.

"I'm sorry, Ray." Topaz called back Ray into his pokeball, losing a great deal of her confidence. She pulled out Achi's pokeball, hesitating her decision. "Alright, Achi. Let's go!"

The fire starter appeared on the battlefield. Immediately, the rocks around him floated in the air. The stones began to glow and immediately crushed Achi, leaving him badly injured. Topaz winced for her Pokémon.

Sulfur also winced as he saw Achi's HP bar drop to just over half on his pokedex. This was not going as planned.

Topaz decided to go with an attack.

"Achi, ember!" The small fire ape launched out multiple flecks of fire at the rock Pokémon.

Geodude recoiled and threw up its arms in defense.

"Keep up the pressure!" Roark yelled out.

His Geodude threw another rock at the Chimchar. Achi was more agile than Ray and easily dodged the incoming volley. Topaz took this chance to attack.

"Achi, use ember again!" Achi launched more fiery flecks at the Geodude, landing the attacked. The Geodude took all the damage it could and finally fainted.

Walter and Ren were celebrating at the recent victory but sulfur sat quietly. This was not the end and he knew it would take a miracle to win this battle.

"Topaz!" Sulfur called out. "Stand on guard, you can still win!" Topaz let out a huff and went back to focus on her battle.

"You took out my Geodude. Now prepare to face the true power of rock!" Roark sent out his pokeball and out came the gigantic rock snake Onix.

Sulfur looked on in awe at the sheer size of this monster as he began to scan it.

"This Pokémon has a magnet in its brain that serves as an internal compass. Its body absorbs many hard objects, making its body very solid. As it grows older, it becomes more rounded and smoother, eventually becoming similar to black diamonds. Onix tunnels under the ground at over fifty miles per hour, which causes tremors and a terrifying roar that echoes a long way. The massive, winding tunnels it leaves behind are used as homes by Diglett. Onix is capable of rotating its head, or any part of their body, a full 360 degrees. It is a very aggressive Pokémon that will constantly attack humans and Pokémon when it is in pain. Onix can be found in mountains and caves, though it prefers underground tunnels with little light."

"Oh, great." Topaz took a deep breath and looked over at Achi. "Let's go, Achi! Ember!" Achi, as before, launched more fiery specks at the large pokemon.

Roark said nothing as his Onix shrugged off the attacks. The Onix grabbed a large rock and flung it at the Chimchar. Achi dodged out of the way but Onix immediately sent another volley of rocks at the Chimchar. There was no escape this time.

"Achi, just get out of there!" Topaz cried out but there was no point in it. The rock attack landed dead on and Achi collapsed helplessly on the ground. The small ape had fainted. Topaz rushed over to her Pokémon and picked him up. Topaz had lost the battle and was greatly upset.

Sulfur looked onto the battle. He knew she had no chance of winning but he still hoped she would win. Ren and Walter looked on sadly.

Roark approached Topaz, returning his Onix to his pokeball.

"You fought well for being at a disadvantage." Topaz looked down as she spoke.

"Thank you. I'll be going." Topaz headed for the double doors with Achi in her arms. All she had in mind was to make it to the Pokémon Center.

Putting away his pokedex, Sulfur followed Topaz out, Ren and Walter following close behind. Once the two trainers made it to the center, Topaz walked over to the counter and handed over Pokémon.

Once the two trainers made it to the center, Topaz walked over to the counter and handed over Pokémon."Your Pokémon will be all better soon, there's no need to worry." The Nurse Joy said reassuring the saddened Topaz.

"Thank you." Topaz replied back blandly.

"That didn't go so well. I guess even with the leers, an ineffective attack still is ineffective." Sulfur said. Topaz turned over to talk to Sulfur.

"Look, Sulfur. Strategies may be your thing, but it's definitely not mine. Once my Pokémon are healed, I'm going out to train on my own. In the meantime, I think you should go challenge Roark. You might have a better chance." Topaz let out a defeated sigh as she spoke.

"Right, are you coming?" Sulfur asked. Topaz shook her head.

"No. I want to be alone. You go." Topaz went back to the counter, took back her Pokémon and headed for the exit. "Good luck, Sulfur."

Sulfur stood alone and looked down on his Pokémon. They looked back at him as if questioning what they were going to do next.

"Alright guys. Let's get back there and show this gym leader who's boss. " Sulfur said confidently. Ren and Walter were in full support and ready for battle. Sulfur smiled at his loyal friends. "Alright. Let's go over some strategy."

Sulfur stood with Ren by his legs on one end of the damaged battlefield as Roark stood at the other.

"Alright, now it's your turn to learn about rock hard offence." Roark said confidently. "Go Geodude!"

A different Geodude was sent out, ready for battle.

"Right then. Walter let's do this!" Sulfur sent out Walter and both combatants were ready on the battlefield.

"Rock throw!" Roark wasted no time and began his assault.

"Withdraw!" Sulfur countered.

Walter braced himself taking the rock throws full force. When the dust cleared, Walter had been unharmed. Geodude prepared another rock throw but was immediately cut off.

"Now! Razorleaf!" Sulfur called out.

Walter attacked with a torrent of leaves that the Geodude could just not defend against. Walter then tackled the Geodude and it was done.

Roark recalled his fainted Pokémon.

"You fought well friend. Go Onix!" The giant rock snake from the earlier battle stood tall looking down on the small Turtwig.

"Onix, stealth rock!"

The Onix tried to set up the rock trap but was immediately interrupted.

"Walter, razor leaf!"

The Onix saw the attack coming and abandoned its set up for a rock throw. Both parties were hit but with one taking more damage than the other.

"Onix, calm down! Use screech and lower its defense!"

The Onix let out a high pitched screech that stunned Walter in place. Onix used another rock throw knocking back Walter by surprise.

"Damn it." Sulfur cursed. "Walter get in close and use absorb!"

The Turtwig did as commanded and charged up quickly to the Onix, dodging rocks along the way. Soon Walter was close enough and shot a beam that drained the Onix's energy. Now the Onix was furious but Walter kept calm, dodging erratic attacks and rocks.

"Onix calm down!." Roark calling out to Onix to no avail.

"Now Walter! Razor leaf!"

With constant attacks from all angles the Onix couldn't keep it up. The last of its energy wasted on an enraged attempt to crush the agile Turtwig. Finally the Onix collapsed, fatigued and unable to battle.

"It's not over yet. Get ready for my ultimate rock offensive!" Roark sent out what appeared to be a small blue raptor.

"Walter use absorb!"

As Turtwig attempted to drain the Cranidos it was cut short.

"Headbutt!"

Walter was knocked back and could not continue. He had received to much punishment from the last battles.

"Walter return. Thanks, buddy." Sulfur said saddened a little.

"Send out your next Pokémon." Roark called out.

Sulfur looked down on Ren. As much as he would prefer not to, he had to in order to win. Ren was also determined to win. They were so close.

"Alright. Ren, get in there!" The small Ralts quickly scurried to her place on the rocky battlefield.

"Cranidos use headbutt!" Roark commanded.

Cranidos launched itself at Ren at full speed knocking the wind out of her.

"Ren use confusion!" Ren's counter was just as damaging as Cranidos' headbutt.

"Pursuit!"

Cranidos attacked with a dark type move but was quickly avoided by Ren's teleport.

With that opening, Sulfur continued to command. "Now, use growl!"

Ren gave a small cute growl. Cranidos was put off by this and relaxed a bit. Then Ren attacked again using confusion.

"Don't stop now, Ren! Double team!"

The Ralts made clones of herself surrounding the Cranidos. Cranidos lashed out at all the clones disappearing upon attacking them. Finally, Ren made herself known. She came in for a close range confusion, but was knocked back by Cranidos' struggle.

"Finish it off, Cranidos!" called out Roark. "Headbutt!"

The Cranidos charged at Ren with all the strength it had. But before it hit, Cranidos had collapsed. All the confusion took a toll on his mind until it just couldn't take it anymore.

Cranidos had fainted.

"Cranidos, return." Roark said in defeat.

Ren quickly ran back into Sulfur's arms as he embraced her as they relished in their victory.

"We did it! We won!" Sulfur yelled excitedly. Ren cooed in agreement matching her trainers happiness.

"Well, looks like you were able to overcome my rock assault, and for that I give you this Coal Badge." Roark walked up to Sulfur and handed him the badge. Sulfur took it.

"Thanks! Come, Ren. Let's head back to the Pokémon Center and show Topaz." And with that, the two headed back to rest and enjoy their great victory.


	5. Chapter 5

_***BEFORE YOU READ AND LEAVE COMMENTS: I HAVE THE ACTUAL POKÉMON DIAMOND VERSION GAME. I FOUGHT THE ROCK TIME GYM WITH A CHIMCHAR AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN MY GAME. I WILL FILM MY BATTLES FROM HERE ON OUT AND POST THEM FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS PROOF. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ENJOY.***_

 **C** **hapter** **5:** **You** **Wa** **nt** **Some** **Wi** **ne** **wi** **th** **tha** **t** **CHEESE?!**

"Again!" Topaz yelled out. Achi dodged an attack from Ray and launched flecks of fire at his training partner. Ray quickly ran out of the way, only nearly dodging the fiery attack.

After she had left the center, Topaz had dedicated the rest of the afternoon to training. Her goal was to improve her Pokémon's evasive skills as well as increase the power of their attacks. She was determined to beat Roark.

"Alright, let's stop and go find some other Pokémon to train with." Topaz said as she headed deeper into the grassy area on the outskirts of the city. Achi and Ray reluctantly followed their trainer.

A few minutes later, Topaz spotted a wild Machop wandering close by. Topaz looked over to her Pokémon, deciding on which one to send out to fight.

"Achi, use ember." The fire starter did as he was told and launched his attack at the unexpected Machop. When the attack was over, Machop was then engulf with fire. It cried in pain until the fire went out.

"Yes! That's what we're after! Ember, again!" Achi launched out more fiery specks. The attack landed once more, dealing more damage to the wild Pokémon. The Machop had taken enough and decided to fight back. It ran up to Achi and gave the fire starter a kick. However, its small victory was short lived as it was once more engulfed in flames and finally collapsed on the ground.

Topaz walked over to the collapsed Pokémon and took out a potion from her bag. She sprayed on the potion and motioned the Machop to get up. After regaining some energy, the wild Machop fled away.

"Alright. Let's keep training." Topaz looked back at her Pokémon, showing much more confidence. The two Pokémon agreed and followed.

From a nearby hill, Sulfur and Ren had been watching Topaz and Achi train from afar. Sulfur cataloging Pokémon and Ren enjoying watching her friends train.

"It looks like they're getting really strong, aren't they?" Sulfur asked the Ralts sitting next to nodded and continued to watch on.

They had come earlier when Sulfur realized Topaz wasn't in her room. After some searching, they had found her training on the outskirts of town and decided to keep their distance as to not disturb.

"Well brute force isn't exactly the best way to get things done." Sulfur said scrolling through his pokedex. "But if anyone can make it work, Topaz looks to be the best to fit the role."

"Come on, Achi. We have to train hard to strengthen your ember attack. It's our only chance." The small Chimchar nodded and began to focus. "Alright, use ember!" Achi used his signature move once more, aiming this time at his training partner. Ray waited for the chance to dodge and did so perfectly. Achi continued to use his fiery attack until it finally landed. The moment Ray was hit, he was instantly engulfed in flames. Ray collapsed as he finally grew tired. Topaz walked over to her Shinx, with another potion in hand.

"I think we finally got to where we wanted to be. Sorry for hurting you, Ray." Ray let out a tired whine as Topaz sprayed his wounds.

"We should finally get you two some real rest." Topaz picked up Ray and headed back to the Center with Achi tiredly hanging on her shoulder.

Topaz woke up early the next morning to prepare for her second attempt to earn the Coal Badge. She quickly got dressed and packed her bag. She left her room and looked over to Sulfur's door. Topaz wasn't sure if she should knock on his door or not. She wasn't sure if she wanted Sulfur to watch her fail again. Topaz finally decided to go return her room key and see how she felt from there.

Topaz quickly walked over to the counter and handed back her room key to Nurse Joy. Topaz then asked for her Pokémon back. The pinked haired woman smiled and handed Topaz two pokeballs. Topaz thanked the nurse and walked over to a seat. She felt the need to recollect her thoughts along with her emotions. The only thing on Topaz's mind was if she would be able to win this time?

"Hey, Topaz! You ready for today's battle?" Sulfur said interrupting her thoughts. Topaz looked up at Sulfur, seeing her decision was made for her.

"Um, sure, I guess. I did train and all." Topaz said as she stood up. "Not nervous at all." She lied.

"Good! Let's go" Without a moment to spare, Sulfur grabbed Topaz by the arm and dragged her out.

"Why do I tell you things?" Topaz cried out, regretting everything up to that moment.

The two trainers made it to the front of the gym fairly quick, much to Topaz's discomfort. They entered the building and once again headed for the reception counter.

"Welcome." The receptionist said. "Oh, hello again. Are you here for a rematch?" Topaz didn't give a verbal response, if not a simple nod.

"Is he available?" Topaz dared to asked.

"Yes, he is. You know where to go." The receptionist motioned to the same

double doors as before. Topaz let out a sigh and once again walked through the doors. She walked to her side of the familiar battlefield, declaring her challenge.

Sulfur made his way to the stands with his pokedex in hand. Ren stood on her chair, eager to watch the battle unfold.

Out of a side door, Roark made his way to his side of the battlefield and stood confidently.

"Back again I see. You got stones, I'll give you that." Topaz didn't react much to Roark as she saw there was not much to the pun.

"Um, yes. I did come back." Topaz replied slowly. She pulled out Ray's pokeball, preparing herself for the battle.

"Well I hope you've gotten stronger because if not, this is going to be a short battle." Roark said as he called out his first pokemon. Topaz did the same.

Now both the Shinx and Geodude stared each other down. Ready for the battle that was about to ensue.

"Well there's no point in stalling anymore. Ray, bite!" The small Shinx ran towards his enemy, baring out his fangs. He leaped forward, and bit down on the rock Pokémon's head. Ray quickly jumped off after dealing his damage.

"Keep it at bay, Geodude! Use rock throw!" The Geodude began to rip chunks off the floor and fling them at Ray.

"Dodge them and use bite again!" Ray did as commanded and was scraped by a few rocks. He was able to land his attack with enough strength.

"Stealth rock, Geodude!" Gathering its bearings, the Geodude threw rocks that embedded themselves near the floor Ray was standing on.

*Damn it! Not again.* Topaz became flustered at the sight of the large rocks but she had to continue on. "Ray, keep using bite!" Ray once ran towards Geodude and was this time determined not to let go so easily. He bit onto the rock Pokémon's arms, avoiding any hits from his enemy.

"Shake it off, Geodude!" The Geodude shook violently in a desperate attempt to send the Shinx on his arm flying away from him. After a short struggle, Ray was forced to let go and fell off a few feet away. He took some damage from his fall, but before he could recover, Geodude had thrown a rock straight at him. Ray had finally grown too tired to fight.

Sulfur looked on as he saw Topaz's first Pokémon faint. The Geodude had taken a good amount of damage but with that stealth rock in play, it was sure to level the playing field.

"Kick his ass! You got this!" Sulfur cheered on. Ren also cried out in support.

Topaz recalled Ray into his pokeball and looked over at Sulfur. It was nice of him to cheer her on but even she had little confidence in herself at this moment. Topaz pulled out Achi's pokeball and continued through the death battle. Achi was immediately hit with the large rocks again and Topaz began to feel distraught.

"Alright, Achi. There's only one way to go. Use ember!" Achi stood up after taking on the overwhelming attack and spit out fiery specks at the Geodude. Little damage was seen on the rock Pokémon until it was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"Oh no! Geodude hold strong! Don't crack under the pressure!" Geodude stood strong but was clearly weakened.

Topaz felt a bit more confident as ember's effect was kicking in.

"Ember one more time, Achi!" The small fire Pokémon did as told and landed another fiery attack. Geodude again took little damage but was engulfed in flames seconds later. The Geodude finally fell over exhausted.

"You did good." Roark said returning Geodude to his ball. "But can you handle my rock hard snake?" Out came the Onix that had previously crushed Topaz's team, looking down annoyed at the fire chimp.

"I think I can. Achi, ember!" Achi once again used his fiery attack, but the burn effect didn't seem to occur this time. Topaz became worried as the large Onix prepared to throw a large rock at the small fire chimp.

"Don't let that rock hit you, Achi!" The small Chimchar jumped out the way of the large rock that flew at him and spit out more fiery flecks. Much to Topaz's amazement, Onix was also engulfed in flames like the Geodude before it.

*Burn tactic huh? Not bad.* Sulfur thought as he chuckled to himself.

*Still, you're gonna need some serious skill to beat him.*

"Alright, Achi! Hit him with another ember!" Achi followed his trainer's command and once more launched out orange specks from his mouth. The attack landed, dealing more damage to the Onix.

"Onix, fire back with some rock throws!"

The now enraged Onix began flinging rock after rock at the Chimchar. Achi tried desperately to dodge what he could, but still took serious damage.

"Not again." Topaz said as she looked over worriedly at her Pokémon. Roark laughed.

"You put up a good fight, but it's time to end this. Onix rock throw!" Once again, rocks of all kind were thrown at the Chimchar.

Although Topaz was ready to accept another failure, Achi wasn't prepared to lose. He stood up once more and without warning, was engulfed in a bright white light. Topaz gasped as she couldn't believe what was happening before her.

*Holy crap.* Sulfur thought to himself, immediately looking to his pokedex. *He's evolving!*

After the flash dimmed, Achi stood no longer as a Chimchar, but now as a Monferno.

"YES! Let's go, Achi! Finish it with another ember!" Topaz called out more confidently. The new Achi did as told and landed an even more powerful ember attack. The large Onix took slightly more damage and with another burn, it collapsed on the rocky ground.

"No, Onix!" Roark was shocked to see his Onix fall to a fire type. "Alright so you've proven you aren't just some ordinary trainer, so prepare to collide with my most powerful pokemon. Go Cranidos!"

"Hey, Topaz!" Sulfur called out. "Watch out for that headbutt. It's a pain!" Ren gave a short cry as she rubbed her stomach where she was previously hit.

Topaz nodded and focused back her battle.

"Alright, Achi! Keep on with ember!" The fire monkey nodded in agreement with his trainer and launched out his signature move of the battle. The embers managed to land hit and Cranidos was instantly engulfed in flames like the two Pokémon before him.

"Headbutt!" Roark had grown annoyed at the inconvenience.

With a swift motion, the Cranidos launched itself right into Achi knocking him back.

"Don't let him stop you, Achi! Ember!" Achi stood back up and continued to spit fire flecks at the Cranidos. The attack landed along with the burn status.

"Weaken it with leer and attack!" Cranidos gave a malicious stare that lowered Achi's defenses. Cranidos then disappeared before attacking the Monferno from behind.

Achi saw Cranidos and nearly dodged the sneak attack. Monferno let out another landing ember attack before avoiding a headbutt. All the while, the Cranidos took damage from the burn effect from the various embers.

"You're almost there Topaz!" Sulfur called out. The pokedex showed Cranidos was in critical condition.

"Finish it, Achi! One final ember!" Achi ran towards Cranidos and landed the finishing attack. Cranidos finally collapsed, announcing the end of the battle.

"Well, looks like you won." Roark said a bit bitter, recalling his Cranidos. "As complete cheese your strategy may have been, you still earned this."

In his hands was the Coal Badge Topaz was after. She eagerly took it from him.

"Yes! Finally earned my first badge! Thanks!" Topaz safely put her badge in her bag and headed towards the double doors.

Sulfur picked up Ren and headed towards the same direction.

"Sorry for the cheese." Sulfur said as he left.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Other Party**

Walter stood outside having recently been released from his pokeball. Around him stood Ray, Ren, and the recently evolved Achi. Though they have battled together, none of them have actually engaged in any sort of extended conversation.

Sulfur spoke up. "Alright guys, we're headed back to Jubilife so take this time to stretch your legs out."

"And this time, we aren't stopping to scan any Pokémon. We're gonna make it there by the end of the day. Ahem." Topaz looked over at Sulfur as she spoke.

Sulfur rolled his eyes, the Pokémon were eager to begin the walk on either case. Ren had taken her usual spot on Sulfur's shoulder as they started to walk. It didn't take long before conversation sparked between the Pokémon.

"*Well, I have to say yesterday was the best day ever! I really owned that gym.*" Achi was the first to speak.

"*Yes that was quite impressive I must say.*" Walter responded. "*And evolving mid battle, you've come a long way.*"

"*Yeah, really great work, Achi. Whoo.*" Ray managed to squeeze in his share. Achi turned toward his teammate.

"*Look, I couldn't have done it without you. I don't think I would have made it all the way through.*" Achi replied back, trying to comfort Ray.

"*I fainted within the same place twice. I couldn't even beat a simple rock with arms.*" Ray said disappointed.

"*Oh, don't worry about it too much.*" Ren chimed in. "*He was a rock type after all, your kind doesn't fair well against them.*"

"*I understand that but life seemed easier when I was still in the wild.*" Ray replied back sourly.

"*I remember that! You were running before you got caught by your trainer.*" Ren thought back to a couple days ago.

"*I never did give you my proper thanks for that, Achi. You could've gone easy with that ember of yours. All I wanted was breakfast!*" Ray said bitterly. Achi raised his shoulders in response.

"*Sorry! It was new and I got excited! I couldn't control it!*" Achi replied in defense. Walter smiled.

"*We do still have things to learn it seems, Brother.*"

"*Hey Walter, why did you call Achi brother? I'm sure you're not related.*" Ren curiously asked.

"*We both were born in the same place and lived together for a lot of our lives.*" Walter answered.

"*It would only make sense that we see each other that way, Little Ren. We grew up only having each other and Piplup in that lab.*" Achi continued Walter's response. Ren looked back a bit offended.

"*Little? Just cause you evolved doesn't make you older than me.*"

Achi chuckled. "*No but you're much smaller now.*"

"*No need to make such a fuss. The good thing is we all secured victory and obtained the badge.*" Walter said proudly while Ren rolled her eyes.

"*Oh, hey. We're at that cave again.*" Achi said, changing the subject. Topaz turned to look at Achi and motioned him to move to the front as Sulfur took out his flashlight.

Ren looked into the dark cave. "*Hopefully we don't have to deal with those Zubats idiots.*"

"*Yeah...that...that wasn't fun.*" Achi agreed as he walked into the cave first.

"*Good thing I wasn't out that day. Sounds like it was horrible.*" Ray said.

"*Little bastards were cowards fighting us all at once.*" Ren said angrily.

"*Well they really got on your bad side quick. But I agree. It was not fair at all.*" Achi replied slightly more quietly.

The Pokémon took point as their trainers followed close behind, Achi's tail illuminating the cave around him. It didn't take long for them to run into some Zubats from before. Two zubats hanging from the ceiling decided follow the group.

"*Hey look, it's the flame butt. You back for more?*" One of the zubats mocked.

"*Oh no! You better not get on his bad side! He might fling his flaming feces at us!*" The other laughed.

"*You'd be lucky if it was fire poo, you blind dumb wings.*" Achi retorted back.

"*Hey you Arceus damn cowards, why don't you shut that big mouth of yours!*" Ren yelled loudly.

"*Oh I'm sorry, did we interrupt the babies nap time?*"

"*I will end you!*" Ren now furious.

Walter sighed "*Just ignore them, they'll go away.*"

"*Brother, we tried that last time and we were ambushed. These jerks just need some beating.*" Achi growled.

The Zubats laughed back. "*A beating? Why? So we can chase you out with your tails between your legs again?*"

The two zubat continued to chuckle as the group continued trying to make their way through.

"*Walter is right, Achi. We're already halfway through. We wouldn't bring anything good to our trainers.*" Ray said.

"*But we're more prepared this time!*" Achi replied.

"*Leave them be. We won't have to deal with them again after we get through so enough.*" Ray said firmly.

The group continued their walk with the constant mocking of the Zubats following. Walter stayed calm while Ren was gnawing at Sulfur's hoodie in her attempts to stay calm much to his displeasure. Finally they reached the end of the cave relieved to be rid of the Zubats

"*Make sure to come back soon! We'll be waiting for you!*" The Zubats called out.

"*You better hope we don't you idiots!*" Achi shouted backed.

"*Finally, I was in second away from exploding their stupid little faces.*" Ren said now relived. "* How did you manage to deal with it Walter?*"

Walter nodded. "*All you need is a little patience and thick skin.*"

"*Well I guess that makes you more mature than the rest of us.*" Ren sighed.

Topaz stopped and turned towards Sulfur with an expression of agitation. She reached above Sulfur's head and grabbed Ren.

"Look, Goldie. I understand you love Ren to the end of time but seriously, give the poor thing some air. If you keep this up, you're going to have to roll around your little Ralts baby."

Ren wiggled around annoyed at being picked up and agitated at being called an infant again. Topaz placed her on the grassy ground and withdrew.

"Also, I was getting annoyed at all her yelling. Let the poor thing socialize. You are such a helicopter parent, Goldie." Topaz returned to her place, leaving the Pokémon to once again regroup.

Sulfur and Topaz began arguing back and forth again leaving Ren to walk with the rest.

"*Damn that human! These legs weren't meant to walk!*" Ren said as she began to waddle.

Walter titled his head confused. "*What? That's absurd!*"

"*Ralts don't typically walk let alone run. We rely on our care takers to carry us around.*"

"*Sounds like something you would do for a tiny child.*" Achi teased.

"*Yeah, yeah keep talking flame butt.*" Ren answered back.

Not wanting to escalate further, Walter decided to change the subject.

"*Ray, how was it like being a wild pokemon?*"

"*Well, it was actually nice. I did want I wanted, when I wanted to. The only difficulty of that was finding food.*" Ray said as he thought back. "*I was in a small pride but after a couple of weeks, my pride brought me and other Shinxs to that small route as a sort of rite of passage. A way for us to learn to become independent and grow strong. We were to stay there until we grew into Luxios and travel to another route. After that, we return to our pride once we were all Luxray.*"

"*Oh, that's pretty interesting. What about you Ren? You were wild at some point right?*" Walter asked.

"*Oh, it was nothing interesting. Just a dumb Ralts walking around in the woods till I ran into Sulfur. That's it.*" Ren answered quickly.

"*I thought there would've been more to it than that.*" Walter was looking a little disappointed at her response.

"*What about lab life, mind sharing a little, hot head?*"

"*The fire is not on my head or my butt. It's on my tail. Get it right.*" Achi replied back annoyed. "*Getting back to your question; lab life wasn't too bad. Free meals, soft bed, roof over our heads. Nothing seemed to compare how perfect it was. Even though the same routine everyday made it really boring. Anything you want to add, Brother?*" Achi asked as he looked over to Walter.

"*They did tests on us for research purposes.*" Walter added.

"*Tests?*" Ren asked. "*Did they cut you open?*"

"*No, not those kinds of tests. We simply did strength and endurance tests.*" Walter cringed at the thought of being cut open.

"*Where is that mind of yours, Ren. I don't think we would be alive if we were cut open.*" Achi said.

"*Hey. Looks like we made it to the city.*" Ray interrupted. Being occupied in their conversation, the small group of Pokémon had not notice how quickly time passed as they arrived back to Jubilife City. They also didn't notice that their trainers were still arguing over nothing.

"Look point is, I know how to take care of my Pokémon and I know what's best for them...Hey look we're back."

"Typical Goldie. Changing the subject."

"Let's head to the center. We can

discuss where to go next from there."

"There's no need to discuss anything. We're heading for Eterna City for the next gym battle." Topaz said in a serious manner.

"Well we at least gotta take a break sometime before heading out again. Plus, I'm starving." Sulfur said sheepishly.

"Fine. I guess I could eat something, too. Let's head to the Center." Topaz recalled her pokemon and began making her way towards the red roofed building close by.

Sulfur crouched down and picked up Ren much to her relief and recalled Walter to his ball.

Later both trainers sat in a booth at the Pokèmon Center cafeteria. Sulfur woofing down his food while Ren played around with a ketchup bottle.

"You wanted to take a break and yet you're not even chewing your food." Topaz said as she bit into her burger.

"Hey I gotta keep my strength up I am going to continue training." Sulfur said inhaling his fries

"I think you may die of a stomach ache before you do anymore training and this time, you can't blame me." Topaz took a sip of her soda as she spoke.

In the middle their lunch, Sulfur overheard chatter from other trainers.

"Hey, you signed up for the contest?" One asked his friend.

"Sure did. That ribbon is mine." He responded.

Sulfur was put off by this. "Hey Topaz, they got Pokémon contests in Sinnoh?"

Topaz squinted her eyes at Sulfur as she slowly spoke.

"Of course Sinnoh has contests. I guess we did start our journey around the same time of the next Grand Festival. Didn't think you would even be interested with all your 'research' going on." Topaz took another bite of her burger. "How could you not know that it was contest season? You live in this region."

"I only just moved here. I'm actually Hoennese." Sulfur explained, failing to grab the ketchup from his Ralts. "I guess I should've told you."

Topaz had a confused expression on her face before realization slapped her. She quickly then slammed her face on the table, shaking it quite a bit.

"Did...did you move to Twinleaf by any chance?" Topaz managed to muffle without lifting her head.

Sulfur, puzzled, responded. "Yeah, though I didn't stay long since I decided on going on this journey."

Topaz began to steadily bang her head against the table. "Why?! Why me?!" Topaz whispered to herself in a sad manner as she whimpered.

"What's wrong?" Sulfur asked. Topaz continued to whimper until it sounded like she was close to tears. She tried to speak but it came out as broken, sad gibberish.

"I...mom...said no...hurry...fail...now...dumb…" Topaz finally took a deep breath and raised her head to speak, leaving her chin on the table. "I'm from Twinleaf Town. On my first day, my mother told me I should meet up with the new kid on my block. I refused and went to Sandgem. I was such in a rush, it all backfired on me at Oreburgh and now, the new kid I tried to avoid is sitting right in front of my face." Topaz then went back to facing the table.

Sulfur was at a loss for words. "Oh...I see." The table was quiet aside from Ren licking the ketchup bottle indifferent to the situation.

"But hey it's nice to meet my neighbor now. Can you shed some light on these contests though? I heard they're different from Hoenn's." Sulfur said attempting to change the subject.

Topaz let out a final sigh before sitting up and rubbing her temple. She pushed away her leftover food before speaking.

"Yeah, they are pretty different. If anything, the Sinnoh contests have much more flair that Hoenn can't match, although it does share the two stages of Hoenn contests. The appeals and the battle stage. If you can't wow the judges in the appeals, don't count on making it to the battle stage." Topaz began poking her burger with one of her fries.

"Sounds interesting, think I might try it out. What do you say Ren?" Ren was preoccupied with the ketchup. "Why do I tell you things?"

"Sulfur, contests take a lot of time and effort, even more than gym battles and that's coming from me. Plus, contest battles are more difficult than the battles in gyms. You're gonna have to choose between gyms or contests because the training you do with your Pokémon is highly important." Topaz spoke in a serious tone.

"It couldn't hurt to give it a try, besides I'm sure to see tons of new Pokémon to document. It could turn out to be a fun distraction." Sulfur reasoned.

"And back again to your research. You always find a way to come back to that, don't you?" Topaz asked tiredly.

"It's why I'm out here." Sulfur responded plainly.

"Fine. The only contest that's close to us right now is in Floaroma. It's usually one of the first places open at the season. Perfect for beginners." Topaz nibbled on a fry.

"Sounds perfect. What do you say Ren? You in?" Sulfur said, flicking his Ralts on the head. She gave an annoyed cry before going back to her ketchup.

Topaz glared at Ren as she ate her dry fries. "Dumb Ralts. Hogging all the ketchup."

The two trainers finished up their lunch and headed to pick up their pokeballs. They then went into the city to pick up supplies they would need for the coming trip. As they made their way to the city's mart, they passed some posters advertising a stylish watch. Topaz ignored the posters while Sulfur took some interest.

"Hey Topaz, what is this thing?" Sulfur asked trying to get her attention. Topaz walked over and took a look at the poster in question.

"Oh, that. It's just a Pokétch. I guess it makes sense that they would be advertised with the contests happening." Topaz explained with little detail.

"Contest Gear? Sounds like something I should acquire." Sulfur looking closer at the ad.

"It's not something that you really need, Goldie. Just a way for the big business to take your money. It's just a fancy watch with silly apps. It's only advertised because the top coordinators in this region have them." Topaz explained.

"Hm, I guess you're right." Sulfur continued to stare for a few more seconds before going wide eyed.

"Topaz hold onto Ren for a bit, she knows what supplies I need. I gotta go take care of something." Sulfur grabbed Ren and passed her to Topaz without giving her time to reply and ran into the city.

"What…? SULFUR!" Topaz looked down at the small Pokémon in her arms. "Fine. But you're not going on my head." Topaz turned around with an annoyed Ralts and continued to make her way towards the mart.

Topaz entered the mart and headed towards an aisle that was stocked with Pokémon food. Topaz struggled to hold Ren as the small Pokémon was squirming in her arms.

"Seriously, Ren. What do you want from me? My baby sister doesn't squirm as much as you." Topaz tried to readjust her hold on Ren but the small Ralts refused to make a compromise. Eventually, Topaz gave up trying and placed Ren on the ground. "You know what? There. That's your punishment. Make up your mind." Topaz went back to looking at the Pokèmon food, seeking for the better deal.

"*Ugh! Sulfur why did you leave me with this human?*" Ren thought to herself.

Topaz walked over to the end of the aisle and grabbed a small shopping basket. She returned to the food and placed in four cans. Topaz then grabbed Ren and placed her in the basket with the food.

"There. I don't have to touch you and you don't have to walk. Are you happy now?" Topaz picked up the basket as she spoke to the small Ralts.

"*As long as you don't try to bury me in here I'm fine.*" Ren thought again to herself.

"I'll just take that as a 'sure'." Topaz carried the basket as a purse to allow Ren to look around the store. "Alright. We also need potions and maybe some sandwiches." Topaz made her way to another aisle where she grabbed a few potions. She walked towards the back of the store and stood in front of the multiple fridges.

"Hm. Which to buy?" Topaz scanned the many sandwiches. After deciding, she grabbed a couple of sandwiches and looked over at Ren. "Which one does Sulfur like?" She held a few choices in front of the Ralts, hoping to get an answer.

Ren looked at the options presented to her and immediately levitated her pick, a blue jelly filled sandwich.

"Kelpsy berry jelly sandwich it is then." Topaz placed the unchosen sandwiches back in the fridge and grabbed a couple more kelpsy sandwiches. Topaz walked to another fridge and grabbed a few bottles of water. As she made her way to the counter, Topaz looked down at Ren. "You want anything before we leave?"

Ren look over the counter of sweets before deciding on a bag of sugar coated kelpsy bits. She raised it to Topaz who took it from her.

"Kelspy candy?" Topaz raised an eyebrow as she stared at the bag. "You and Sulfur must be obsessed with that berry." Topaz shrugged. She walked over to the cash register and payed for all the items in the basket. Topaz grabbed Ren and placed her on the floor as the cashier scanned the supplies. After paying, Topaz divided the supplies and placed her half in her bag. She placed Sulfur's half in a plastic bag and picked up Ren. Topaz rummaged through the plastic bag and handed Ren her candy. "Knock yourself out."

Ren immediately began to enjoy her sweets which made it easier for Topaz to carry her.

"Well, I guess we should just go back to the center. Sulfur isn't coming here any time soon." Topaz said as she retraced her steps.

Upon arrival, it didn't take long for Sulfur to return. Notably with a new device to fiddle around with besides the dex.

"Sulfur, where the hell did you go? I can't believe you just left like that!" Topaz asked angrily.

"I believe this will answer your question!" Sulfur said proudly as he showed off his shiny new Pokétch. Topaz stared at the new device.

"Sulfur! I told you that it was a waste of money!" Topaz yelled out once again.

"Ah! But you see I didn't pay a thing! It was completely free. You see I, noticed in a small portion of the poster ad that they were looking for new trainers to test their new prototype. All I gotta do is provide feedback and they'll send me new applications as they are completed. It's great isn't it?" Sulfur finished.

"You always find a way around things, don't you Goldie?" Topaz sighed and rubbed her face. "Anyways, I got your supplies." Topaz handed Sulfur the plastic bag she had.

"Excellent, then we should be ready for tomorrow's trek then." Sulfur took his supplies.

"I also got you some sandwiches of your favorite flavor." Topaz mentioned as she stood up.

"Oh?...kelpsy berry jam huh? Why am I not surprised?" Sulfur said looking at his Ralts. "Should've known you'd pick out your favorite."

Ren gave a sly smile. "Oh you know what you did."

"I guess that explains why she wanted the kelpsy candy too. Is kelspy not your favorite?" Topaz asked.

"Kelpsy is this little one's favorite, but that's not important now. I'm gonna sort out my things and then I'm going to turn in." With that Sulfur grabbed his Ralts and his supplies and left.

"Well played, little rascal you. Well played." Topaz grabbed her own bag and went on her own direction.


	7. Chapter 7

_***ANY REVIEWS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU.***_

 **Chapter 7: Of the Same Earth**

Daylight chased away the darkness as both Sulfur and Topaz stood at the entrance to Route 205. With supplies restocked and new devices to play with they were on their way to Floaroma. The route was dotted with lakes and trees leading into unexplored unknowns but the two trainers followed the set path cleared by those who made the journey before them. Even with a mostly cleared route, it was not without its own hazards. Many dangerous plant life were known to populate this route.

"Whoa...there's a lot of lakes here. I wonder what Pokémon besides Psyduck reside within them?" Sulfur asked himself having just recently scanned a fainted Psyduck Walter stood proudly before returning to his pokeball.

"Yeah. That was a real disappointment. You keep doing you." Topaz responded half distracted. She was parting every bush she saw, peeping any place she could. It was how they found the Psyduck in the first place.

Sulfur looked puzzled. So far, Topaz had always been the impatient one trying to get to their next destination as soon as possible but now she had been looking around as if she had lost something important.

"You know as much as I appreciate the help, what exactly are you looking for?" Sulfur asked.

"Nothing. There's just Magikarp and maybe a Goldeen if you're lucky but we don't have a rod, so you know. It happens." Topaz replied back, not answering the current question. "They have to be here somewhere!" Topaz walked to another bush as she spoke.

"Right … well, whenever you get back from Lala Land, make sure to let me know." Sulfur replied quizzaciously.

Suddenly, Ren cried out and pointed Sulfur in another direction. "What is it Ren?" Sulfur asked.

Turning in the direction Ren pointed stood a tiny green Pokémon, stunned by the fact it had just been caught attempting to sneak by.

"Wow what's that thing?" Sulfur asked pulling out his pokedex.

Topaz also turned around to see. When she caught a glimpse of the new Pokémon, Topaz let out a happy squeal.

"Ren you found one! You're amazing! I can't believe you found a Budew!" Topaz continued to squeal as she rushed over and picked up the panicked Budew. Topaz quickly turned to Sulfur stuffed the small Pokémon in his face. "Quick! Sulfur! Scan if it's a female!"

"Uh this seems a little unorthodox. But alright." Sulfur said turning the pokedex on the frightened Budew. "It appears to be male." Topaz frowned at such announcement.

"Well it looks like we're gonna have to do this the old fashion way." Topaz said. She placed the Budew on the ground and scared it away. It ran in one direction, crying all the way. "Quickly! After him!" Topaz yelled out as she chased the small Budew.

"I am not comfortable with this." Sulfur said following Topaz into the woods, while Ren was barely holding on.

They rushed through trees, tall grass, and other dangerous hazards until they finally came across a small patch of Budew.

"Yes! I did it! I found more Budew!" Topaz happily said as she crouched down behind a bush.

"Not exactly the best method but we did find them. What are you planning on doing?" Sulfur asked.

"This." Topaz stood up and walked over to the grouped up Budew. "Goldie! I need you for this to work." Topaz picked up a random Budew as Sulfur walked over. "Scan it."

"It's a female. Alright, capture it so we can move on." Sulfur said, about to put away his pokedex.

"Um, I don't think so. I never said we were done. Scan it again and see if has the Poison Point ability." Topaz said firmly, still holding up the small Pokémon.

"If it had poison point, you'd be dropping it immediately." Sulfur said annoyed.

"Touché." Topaz dropped the Budew in her hands and moved on to the next one. "Scan this one."

"Male." Sulfur responded immediately after scanning. Topaz quickly dropped the Pokémon and picked another one.

"This one."

"Male."

"This one?"

"Female."

"Ooh! Poison point?!" Topaz asked excitedly. Sulfur raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"No need to be rude, Goldie."

This small back and forth continued until Topaz screamed out in pain. She threw away the Budew she had recently grabbed and hid behind Sulfur.

"It hurt me!" Topaz cried out as she pointed at an angry, discolored Budew. "Scan it!"

"Female. Not only that, it appears to be a shiny!" Sulfur exclaimed. Topaz pulled out Achi's pokéball as she faced the Budew.

"Perfect! And it clearly has Poison Point so let's catch it!" Topaz threw the pokeball and Achi quickly appeared. "Alright Achi. Let's do this without getting poisoned. Ember!" Achi launched out his signature move on command. The small grass type took significant damage as it fell to the ground. Topaz quickly threw an empty pokeball at the fallen Budew and was happy when the capture was complete.

"Yes! I got a Budew!" Topaz yelled triumphantly as she held up the pokeball. "Great job, Achi." Topaz walked over to Sulfur. "Okay, let's make our way back to Floaroma."

"It's about time this foolishness was over. Let's be on our way." Sulfur said,

already making his way out. Topaz happily followed Sulfur with Achi behind her.

The small group had travel twice as fast for all the time lost. They tried to avoid any hazards in the small forest in order not to disturb any other poor Pokémon nearby. With a new companion, Topaz seemed more easy going which allowed the group to reach a small tunnel more quickly.

"You mind explaining what the whole Budew incident was about?" Sulfur asked.

"What's there to explain? I just wanted to get the perfect Budew." Topaz replied back as she had Achi take the lead.

"Right, as if that was all there was to it." Sulfur said entering the tunnel.

"Well shouldn't that be enough to answer your question?" Topaz replied back, trying to avoid any explanation. Sulfur glanced at her before continuing.

"For now."

Besides a select few Geodudes, the tunnel was a short trip. Walter made it easier by making short work of the would be attackers. As they left the small tunnel, Topaz noticed that the sun sat in the middle of the sky.

"We're not going to make it to Floaroma even if we ran. We still have to climb a small hill and still walk through another small forest." Topaz noted.

"I guess the least we can do is travel a bit further before setting up camp again." Sulfur reasoned. Topaz nodded and continued on the path to Floaroma.

The lingering rays of sunlight began to die down as the two trainers made themselves comfortable around their campsite. Most of the Pokémon talked and ate while their trainers hung around the fire pit thinking of what was next to come. Sulfur had taken the time to play around with the pokétch while Topaz had taken out a notepad and was quietly doodling. Sulfur stopped fiddling with his poketch and looked at Topaz.

"I think it's about time." Sulfur stated abruptly. Topaz glanced up at Sulfur from her notepad. She darted her eyes to a side and back at Sulfur.

"Um, if you wanna go to sleep, go right ahead but you're not my mama. I'm not tired and you can't ground me." Topaz replied back and continued on with her doodle.

"I meant you should probably let that Budew out." Sulfur sighed. Topaz again avoided eye contact.

"Wouldn't it be better to leave Budew in her pokéball until we get to a center? Have her cool off maybe?" Topaz asked.

"Budew can either make you look like a bad trainer in front of me, or in front of Nurse Joy. If I were you, I wouldn't take that chance with my trainer's license." Sulfur explained.

"Fine. But if I get beat up by a grass type, I'm blaming you." Topaz said as she pulled out a pokéball. She made a small toss and released a still agitated Budew. The small Budew turned away from Topaz and wandered over to the small group of Pokémon. Topaz looked over to Sulfur. "Happy now, Goldie? Now you can scan the poor thing all you want. Mister 'I'm-obsessed-with-research'." Topaz went back to doodling. Sulfur scoffed.

"I'm obsessed? Says the girl who had me check the gender and ability of a specific Pokémon. Maybe you should elaborate on that, Rocky." Topaz ignored the bad nickname and continued on drawing.

"There's nothing to tell about that. Besides, I already told you the reason."

"Would it be much of an issue if I asked you to further explain? I'm sure there is more to this than you let on." Sulfur said pressing the conversation. Topaz placed her notepad down on her lap.

"You're not going to leave me alone about this, are you?" Topaz tiredly asked.

"As long as we continue to travel together, no I will not." Sulfur replied. Topaz sighed.

"Fine. You always win in the end. It's too long of a story to tell but let's just say that I owe my life to a Roselia. Most Roselia have Natural Cure as their ability but it was Poison Point that actually helped me. I guess I just felt like I owed it to myself to have my own Roselia. Possibly a Roserade." Topaz explained while looking over to the discolored Budew.

"Interesting…" Sulfur said taking a break to think about it before continuing again. "Feeling indebted to a Pokémon that saved your life is not uncommon. I can understand."

"So will you leave me alone now?" Topaz asked as she picked up her notepad.

"I think that will suffice, yes." Sulfur finished.

As Topaz was vaguely explaining her obsession to Sulfur, the small Budew had decided to acquaint herself with the other Pokémon.

"*Is there room here for another? I wouldn't mind eating.*" Ray nudged over some Pokémon food to Budew.

"*Well, this is our dinner for the moment.*" Ray sat down next to Budew.

"*Thank you.*" Budew leaned her face downward and began to eat.

"*Looks like Achi burned another one. Welcome to our little pack.*" Ren said greeting the new Budew. "*Hey you got a name yet?*"

"*I don't believe I've been renamed by my captor, if that's what you mean.*" Budew answered.

"*Wow um...*" Ren was at a lost for words as she rubbed the back of her head. "*So, you already got a name then?*"

"*Well my birth name, yes of course. My patch would refer to me as Lila because of how I look.*" Budew replied.

"*I had forgotten wild pokemon had names as well.*" Walter said. "*Ray, did you have a name before your trainer named you?*"

"*Um no actually. We had to earn our names as we grew. Ray is the only name I've ever had.*" Ray explained. "*Ren, you were also wild. Don't you have another name?*" Ray asked while taking another mouthful of Pokémon food.

"*Well no, I didn't have a name until I met Sulfur. I had lost my parents a long time ago so I was never given a name.*" Ren answered.

"*Wow,*" said Walter, "*so then I guess this is the first time someone came in already having a name. Ren, can you tell Sulfur Budew's name?*"

"*I don't know how to use human symbols so I cannot communicate with him.*" replied Ren sadly.

"*That's rather unfortunate.*" Walter finished.

"*Well that's alright. It's part of the deal when one is captured.*" Lila said calmly.

"*You seem to be taking being captured well.*" Ren stated.

"*I had my small bit of revenge when I pricked my captor so in a way, I'm satisfied. My kind are captured frequently so we have come to accept capture as a part of our life.*" Lila explained as she continued to eat.

"*My species tend to stay away from humans as much as possible so we rarely worry about being captured.*" Ren said standing up. "*In any case I think you'll be fine here.*"

The Pokémon ate in silence for the rest of the meal. The moon had finished its assent to the sky and the woods had become quiet. The Pokémon brought their empty bowls of food to their respective trainers and huddled together to sleep. Both trainers took this as a sign to get some rest themselves. Much awaited them in Floaroma.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Busy Mom Day**

The next sunny morning was spent traveling toward the much anticipated town of Floaroma. Topaz decided to make up for her foolish behavior by leading the group through a short cut.

"If we keep going through here, we should reach the main path into Floaroma." Topaz said as she parted a few low hanging branches.

"Last time we wandered from the path, we ended up chasing down Budews." Sulfur said annoyed.

"Then you tell me a faster way to get to Floaroma Town, Hoenn Boy." Topaz replied back. "I'm the only one here who knows this region best. If we're ever in Hoenn together, then maybe I'll let you tell me what to do." Topaz stopped walking when she reached an open path. "Until then, you better thank me for cutting the trip an hour short." Topaz smiled to herself when she pointed out the main path.

"What a jerk." Sulfur thought to himself.

The two trainers wasted no time as they passed through underbrush and trees to make their way to Floaroma, a small town with a big event calling trainers from all over to compete and put their skills to the test. The town was full of coordinators who had travelled there for their chance at one of the contest ribbons.

Upon reaching the small town, the two trainers made their way to the center to heal their Pokémon and book their separate rooms.

"Two rooms please." Topaz requested as she handed her pokéballs to the pink haired nurse.

"I'm sorry. Are you two traveling together?" Nurse Joy asked as she received pokéballs from both trainers.

"Um sadly yes. Is there something wrong?" Topaz asked.

"I'm terribly sorry but being that the town is hosting a contest, we can't give out rooms to only one trainer. We wouldn't have any room for anyone if we did that so we can only give one room to two or more trainers. You two will have to share a room together." Nurse Joy explained.

"Well isn't that a pleasant surprise?" Sulfur said sarcastically. Topaz rubbed her face with her hand.

"Fine. I guess we'll take the one room." Nurse Joy smiled as she handed over a single key.

"Room 23 on the second floor is yours. Enjoy your stay!" Topaz grabbed the key and muttered out a thank you as she walked away.

"C'mon, Sulfur. We got a lot to do and I don't feel like carrying my bag everywhere." Topaz said as she headed for the stairs.

"Right then. Let's just get this over and done with." Sulfur said following close behind.

Once inside the room, Topaz set down her bag on a table and pulled out a small kit. She pulled out her notepad and opened the small kit to reveal several sewing items. Topaz pulled out a pencil and grabbed her measuring tape from the small kit. She then proceeded over Sulfur.

"Take off your sweater." Topaz said unexpectedly.

"I knew you were direct but this is ridiculous." Sulfur joked back.

"Well looks like someone discovered their funny bone but seriously, take off the sweater. We have a lot to do and very little time to get it all done. We still have to get you registered." Topaz insisted.

"Oh right, I had almost forgotten about that." Sulfur finished. Sulfur took off his sweater and set Ren on the nearby bed. "What's this for again?" Topaz forcefully lifted Sulfur's arms as she began taking measurement of Sulfur's chest.

"I may not be the smartest trainer out there, but judging by the way you dress, I'm pretty sure you don't have anything nice to wear for the contest." Topaz replied as wrote down a number on her notepad and proceeded to measuring Sulfur's waist. "Also, being that the contest is in two days, we'll never get you an outfit fit for a contest in any of these stores." Topaz continued as she again wrote in her notepad and began measuring Sulfur's arms and wrists. "The next best thing for you is to make you an outfit by scratch but I need your body measurements for that." Topaz went back to the table to write down a few more numbers.

"I wasn't expecting to enter a contest in Sinnoh, and I had no idea you were good with the needle." Sulfur said surprised at the skill set of his friend.

"Well, when you live with an ex coordinator, you picked up a few tricks about contests. And you learn a lot of things that can never be forgotten." Topaz replied. She flipped through a few pages on her notepad before handing it over to Sulfur. She walked behind him to measure both his back and neck. "Last night I was trying to come up with some kind of design for your first contest that would be simple yet worthy of wearing for a contest."

"Oh really? This looks like a show stopper." Sulfur said. Topaz walked back in front of Sulfur and shrugged.

"I took inspiration from Walter. White at this time will be a hard color of fabric to come by." Topaz took back the notepad and wrote down more measurements. Topaz placed down her notepad and looked over at Sulfur. "Ok, now this is the part where my job becomes a little difficult. Wrap this tape around your butt and your crotch. Make sure it's over the biggest part of your butt." Topaz handed over the tape to Sulfur.

"Well then I am sure I can manage that." Sulfur said a little uncomfortable. Topaz took down a number and gave another instruction.

"Ok, now hold the zero end on the inside of your pant leg, right near your crotch." Topaz said.

"Um.. okay." Sulfur continued awkwardly, while Ren also looked on in confusion. Topaz took the end and wrote down another number. She took back the tape and measured out Sulfur's ankle. She grabbed her notepad and did some calculations.

"Alright. Let's leave our bags here because we need to buy all the fabric for both your shirt and pants. We should also go to a store and get you some dress shoes. But first, the contest hall to get you registered." Topaz ripped out a page from her notepad and grabbed a small purse from her bag. She began her way towards the door.

"I guess I'll go register myself then." Sulfur said putting his sweater back on "Let's go Ren." Topaz nodded and walked out into the hall.

"Oh. If we're splitting up, can I borrow Walter? Just to match the colors?" Topaz asked.

"Of course." Sulfur answered. The two trainers made their way back to Nurse Joy to pick up their pokéballs. Sulfur handed over Walter's pokéball and both trainers went their separate ways.

Topaz exited the center and tossed out Walter's pokéball. She then crouched down to eye level to speak with Walter.

"Hey, Walter. So here's the thing. You and me are gonna spend a few hours together. We need to get Sulfur a great outfit for the contest so I need your help. I like to think you're a bit more reasonable that Ren so let's get going." Topaz stood up and took out Budew's pokéball. "You know what? Let's make it an all grass day. I might as well give Budew a name." Topaz tossed out Budew's pokéball. The small grass type seemed a bit less agitated with her trainer. Topaz crouched down again and poked the small Budew. "Look, I'm sorry we got off the wrong foot yesterday. Probably not the best way to make a new friend. So let's make up and help me out here. I need a lot. I also decided that I owe you a name." The small Budew turned to face her captor. "Would you mind being called Rose? I think it fits." The small Budew seemed to agree and fully faced her trainer. Topaz stood up proudly. "Alright. If we're all good, we better head to the fabric store before it gets too crowded." The two grass types agreed with Topaz and went forth to following her to a nearby store stocked with fabric in the display window.

Topaz entered the fabric shop with the two small Pokémon behind her and quickly tried to find the cotton section of the store. Upon finding the proper section, Topaz moved on to finding the right shade of green that matched Walter's body color. Topaz grabbed a bolt and turned towards the Pokémon behind.

"Walter, come closer." Topaz lowered the bolt closer to the approaching Turtwig. Topaz shook her head and placed back the bolt. She grabbed another bolt close by and did the same thing to see if the color matched. "Well it's as close as it's going to get it." Topaz carried the chosen bolt of fabric and continued walking around the store. She stopped when she found the suit like fabrics. Topaz repeated her process and choose a brown and a yellow bolt of fabric that closely matched Walter's body colors.

"Alright, guys. Let's buy a yard or so of each of these fabrics and maybe go to a clothes store." Topaz said as she walked over to the counter while the two grass types chased after her. After buying the fabrics, Topaz grabbed her bags and left the fabric store with Rose and Walter by her side.

At the recently set up contest hall, coordinators from far and wide gathered to compete to see who had the most skill. Sulfur and Ren entered amazed at the sheer amount of Pokémon ready to put on a performance.

"Wow, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Sulfur said, getting cold feet. Ren tapped Sulfur's head in an attempt to encourage him.

"Well there is no turning back now I suppose." Sulfur continued as he approached the applicants desk.

Before Sulfur could speak, the man at the desk spoke up.

"If you want to register as a coordinator, please show me your trainer card." The receptionist said plainly.

"Of course." Sulfur responded, handing his card over.

With quick fingers, the receptionist worked on typing out the information. It didn't take long before Sulfur was handed his card back.

"I assume you wanted to participate in this contest as well?" The receptionist asked while passing Sulfur a black box full of multi-shaped stickers, two blue ball capsules, and a small case.

"That's correct." Sulfur replied.

"Then this is your information. Contest starts in two days from now, and have fun or whatever." The receptionist finished.

"Right, thanks." Sulfur said taking his card and left to observe the other coordinators.

In the contest hall, there were Pokémon and coordinators of all kinds, perfect for research. Sulfur smiled as he pulled out his pokédex ready to scan. Sulfur was suddenly assaulted before he began, as a random coordinator ran up to him.

"Oh wow! A Ralts! They're super rare! Hey what do you want for it? I'll give you an Eevee for it!" The young coordinator offered.

"Excuse me?" Sulfur answered. Ren gave out an annoyed cry at the thought of being traded away.

Soon more and more trainers attempted to get their closer looks.

"Oh wow look at that! "

"Where did you find it?"

"Would you take a Pikachu for it?"

"All I got is a Magikarp!"

It quickly dawned on Sulfur that this was not the place to collect new scans, not at the moment it seemed.

"Distance yourselves from me! I have no interest in trading!" Sulfur said as he ran away.

"Hm. White tie or yellow tie? White tie? Or yellow?"

Topaz held up two ties in front of Walter and Rose. Rose walked under the yellow tie and held it up the end with her bud. Topaz placed back the white tie.

"Yellow tie it is. You like it Walter?" The small Turtwig gave a nod, much to Topaz's satisfaction. "Alright. Now for shoes." Topaz had found a nice boutique in town that sold formal male clothing in all sorts of colors. Luckily for her, the boutique applied the same standard for dress shoes, which made Topaz's job easier. The only issue was figuring out Sulfur's shoe size. In all her rush, Topaz had forgotten to ask that important detail.

The idea Topaz had was to match Sulfur's shoes to the tips of Walter's feet. Topaz grabbed a pair that closely matched both the tie and Walter.

"Do you guys like this pair?" Rose gave out an angry cry while Walter made a disgusted look. The pair of shoes did seem to fit more for an old man.

"I'm taking that as a very obvious 'no'." Topaz placed back the old man shoes and grabbed a different pair that was a lighter shade of yellow. This pair had a nice reptile like texture and had short laces. "How about these?" Topaz asked. This time, Walter and Rose seemed to like the second pair. "Ok then. What about the size? Maybe a nine? Or an eight?" Topaz decided to go with a bigger size and thus grabbed the appropriate box on the shelf. "Ok, let's buy this and get back to the center."

After leaving the store with all her bags, Topaz pulled out her piece of paper and began to write something when she heard running footsteps coming towards her. She looked up and saw Sulfur running toward her with Ren desperately holding on for dear life.

"Hey, Goldie! What's the rush?" Topaz asked once Sulfur stopped in front of her.

"Those coordinators are insane! Is Ralts really such a rare Pokémon here?" Sulfur said trying to catch his breath. Topaz began laughing at the sound of Sulfur's question.

"What were you expecting when you came to Sinnoh with a Ralts? Of course they're rare here. Think of it this way. Think of how rare a Ralts is in Hoenn, and multiply that number by like a billion. Any native, rare Hoenn Pokémon is twice as rare, if not more, here in Sinnoh." Topaz replied as she continued writing on paper and turned back towards the center.

"As flawed as your math comprehension may be, I think I understand your point." Sulfur said following close behind. "What did you manage to get anyways?"

"Um, a bunch of fabric, a tie, and maybe some big shoes. I forgot to ask your size. We're still close by the store if it's the wrong size." Topaz pulled out the shoe box and handed it over to Sulfur.

"This is either a lucky guess or your more weird than I originally thought you were." Sulfur said looking the shoes over.

"I prefer to think it was a guess than me being weird." Topaz took back the shoe box and placed them in the bag. She pulled Walter's pokéball and handed it back to Sulfur. "Did you get registered for the contest before your encounter with other coordinators?" Topaz asked. Sulfur nodded.

"I managed to, yes. I'm pretty excited for this as well. Wouldn't you agree Ren?" Ren gave a cute cry in confirmation.

"Well good because you still have to practice with entering and battling." Topaz said. She scribbled something else on her paper. "Ok, let's hurry back to the center because we both have lots to do. Hopefully none of those coordinators followed you." Topaz chuckled to herself.

After a quick walk, the trainers found themselves safely back in their room. Topaz headed towards the table and placed down her bags.

"Ok. What did they give you at the contest hall?" Topaz asked.

"A container, some stickers, and blue balls. Awfully nice of them." Sulfur replied. Topaz sighed.

"Those weren't gifts you dope. They're the most important things in a Sinnoh contest. The container is your ribbon case, the blue balls are pokéball capsules and the stickers are seals used for the capsules." Topaz explained. Topaz grabbed Rose's pokéball. "Come on. I'll show you how the capsules work."

The two trainers made it to the open practice field. Topaz took one of Sulfur's capsules and grabbed a petal shaped sticker from the small box. Topaz placed Rose's pokéball in the capsule and recalled Rose. Topaz then placed the seal right above the pokéball button.

"Alright, so this is how your pokéballs should look when you're ready for a contest. After that, you just throw it to present your Pokémon." Topaz threw the pokéball and Rose appeared with flower petals falling down and surrounding her. "It adds a lot of flair." Topaz explained.

"Ah I see, so then that shouldn't be to hard." Sulfur said confidently.

"It's not at all hard to use but if the presentation isn't done right, it can cost you points at the appeals round which you can't risk as it's your one chance to move on to the battle stage." Topaz explained.

"Battle stage? Sounds pretty self explanatory." Sulfur commented.

"Well I'm glad it is. The appeals round is not just about you but how you work well with your Pokémon and show their beauty. You do so by performing the moves your Pokémon knows and using those moves to show the beauty of both the Pokémon and the moves it knows. Basically, show off your Pokémon." Topaz continued.

"I am well aware of the appeals round, I've seen them back at home on the T.V." Sulfur said. "I am sure I can do something similar."

"Goldie, Hoenn emphasizes more the strength of a Pokémon rather than it's beauty or it's cuteness. If you want to impress these Sinnoh judges, you're going to have to forget how contests work in Hoenn. I'm actually trying to help you here." Topaz began to get frustrated. "You actually have a big advantage to move through the appeals quickly. You have a Ralts. That's as cute as cute gets." Topaz looked over at the small Ralts on Sulfur's head

"Cuteness huh?" Sulfur thought aloud.

Sulfur grabbed his Ralts and he held her in front of himself. "Well very few Pokémon come close to cuteness when you compare them to a Ralts." Sulfur stated. Ren gave a large smile and chirped in happiness.

"Yeah, okay. Anyways, you need to tell me Ren's moves if you're going to practice while I sew." Topaz said firmly.

"Well if you must know, her move list includes confusion, double team, growl, and teleport." Sulfur explained. Topaz took out her sheet of paper and wrote down said moves. She took a few minutes to think and then began to scribble in the paper.

"Alright. I think I have something that might emphasize Ren's cuteness. We're going to have her dance in a circle with a hula hoop. Thoughts?" Topaz asked.

"That's sounds extremely appealing." Sulfur said now carrying Ralts under his shoulder like a package. Topaz stared at how Sulfur was carrying Ren.

"What is that?! You seriously can't be happy like that! I tried carrying in a very decent way and he holds you like a rag doll! Why are you so unreasonable?!" Topaz threw her arms in the air as she shouted at Ren. Ren stuck her tongue out, mocking back.

"Could we try and focus here please? We only got so long before the contest begins." Sulfur said a little concerned. Topaz leaned her face up to Ren's dangling one and pointed a finger at Ren.

"I'm onto you, you little brat. I'm onto you." Topaz squinted her eyes and walked away from Sulfur. After was in the middle of the practice field, Topaz began drawing out a large circle in the dirt. She then marked six different points on the circle. "Ok, this is going to be all the space you need for your performance. Have Ren stand in the middle and you're going to have her growl first and then have her capture her growl with confusion. Ren will then have a glowing ring that she can control and fit to her size. You'll then have her use double team and have six copies on these points. All she has to then is dance around with her hoop around this whole circle. Got that?" Topaz asked.

"Wow that seems like a lot to manage in one go." Sulfur said bringing Ren back up to face him. "You think you can manage Ren?" he asked. Ren chirped back in assurance, she was willing to try.

"Great then let us being." Sulfur finished.

"Alright, well just focus on the growl and confusion part. We have today and tomorrow. I'm going back to the room to sew. Try not to get attract any coordinators. I don't wanna have to come down and save your butt." Topaz teased. She picked up Rose and headed back into the center.

With that, Sulfur was left to train with Ren on their new appeals technique. Each getting into their proper position, they began.

"Let us being! Ren start with a growl!" Sulfur commanded.

Ren began with her growl, making the iconic sound waves.

"Now, confusion!" Sulfur continued.

Ren began but soon missed her target. The rings traveled too fast for Ren to capture them.

"Is it even possible to capture sound?" Sulfur thought aloud. Thoughts rushed through his head as he continued to think. This isn't exactly impossible, but there is no doubt this is going to be difficult. Sulfur continued to ponder.

"Would Ren be able to capture it if she was facing the attack? But how would she do that? If I had her use teleport to get in front of the attack it would be possible but that wouldn't leave much reaction time for her confusion. Damn … it appears as if I am really at a loss here. What we need is the attack to be coming at her from the beginning she needs to already be in position when growl launches...but how?"

As Sulfur continued to think to himself, Ren played around with the dirt circle Topaz had made earlier. Then it it hit him.

"I think I have a plan!" Sulfur yelled aloud catching Ren off guard. "Ren, I am going to need you to use double team to create another clone of yourself, after which you're going to use growl on your clone, got it?" Ren smiled in affirmation.

"Let us being! Double team!" Sulfur called out.

Ren split into two entities that stood facing each other.

"Now growl!" Sulfur continued.

The Ralts obeyed as the two each started producing a growl of their own. Instead of leaving, however, the rings clashed into one another consecutively.

"Use confusion to catch a center ring!" Sulfur command.

With that command, both Ralts took one of the rings before it collided and brought it above their heads. Ren then split into four more different Ralts as they all stood around the ring.

"Finish it off!" Sulfur continued, anxious to get it done.

Ren however was finding it difficult to manage. Before one more step could be taken, she lost focus and the ring and the Ralts clones faded away. Ren was left in the center of the circle tired.

"I was certain we would get it." Sulfur said a bit disappointed. Ren felt the disappointment the most however as she felt it was her fault for not concentrating hard enough. She let out a disappointed cry.

"Hey, do not be so discouraged. It was our first try. It is impossible to get anything right on your first try." Sulfur said comforting Ren. "Now let's try again. Practice makes perfection right?" Sulfur asked. Ren looked up with a smile.

"*You're so cheesy Sulfur. You really are a dumb dumb.*" Ren said even though she knew Sulfur wouldn't understand.

"Great! I'm glad we agree. Now let's continue with practice." Sulfur finished. Ren chuckled a little bit before she agreed and continued to practice their routine.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Sweating with the Best**

The sky turned crimson over Sulfur and his Ralts, Ren. They had been training all day to perfect their performance. Wave after wave of growl and multiple uses of double team had worn on them to the point of collapse.

"I believe that a rest might be necessary." Sulfur said collapsing on the ground. Ren had shuffled over to Sulfur's bag and pulled out some sandwiches. "Oh, those are the rations you pick out for us." Sulfur recalled.

Ren nodded as she brought one over to her tired trainer. Sulfur sighed as he took his first bite of the sandwich. Not even the sugar could mask the dryness of the the fruit he was chewing. Every so often Sulfur would catch a seed in his mouth and roll it against the roof of his mouth before spitting it out. Kelpsy berries were always a favorite with Ren ever since Sulfur first met her.

Sulfur's mother had sent him to gather berries in a little garden she had planted near their house. Wild Pokémon would always come by to partake in the the berries but that wouldn't bother her much.

This one day in particular a lonely little Ralts was stumbling through the woods in hopes of finding anything edible. With each passing moment the Ralts' hunger grew. She was in pain and hadn't had a decent night's sleep since she lost her family while traveling. The Ralts had almost given up all hope until she saw the garden. The Ralts ran into the garden admiring all the different berries surrounding her. Would she eat Oran? Sitrus? Pecha? Heck, even a Rawst berry sounded delicious. Reaching out to grab a berry at random she froze right in her tracks at the sight of the small human. The Ralts had heard of their vicious ways, how territorial they were. On the other hand, the young human named Sulfur was just as frightened at the sight of such a dangerous looking Pokémon.

They stood staring at each other for a good few seconds before a low growl sounded. Sulfur, scared out of his mind, offered the kelpsy berries he was picking to the Ralts in hopes he would be spared. Ralts was confused to say the least but her hunger overpowered her caution. Ralts took a berry and bit into it. It was the best tasting thing she ever had.

Sulfur was awoken from his daydream when a seed hit him right in his face.

"What in the reverse world?" Sulfur said, looking around the training grounds.

Ren stood looking at Sulfur giving a big grin.

"Keep that up and you'll learn bullet seed." Sulfur said annoyed.

Ren always liked to spit the kelpsy seeds at things. Especially at Sulfur who was always easy to mess with. Ren began preparing another kelpsy seed.

"Oh, alright then I guess you don't want this then." Sulfur pulled out a full kelpsy berry from his bag.

Sulfur always has these berries on hand as an incentive to his somewhat unresponsive Ralts. "Since there's no good Ralts here, I guess I'll just eat it myself." Ren began to freak out. She ran up to his legs with an apologetic look on her face. She hated it when he made her do this. Sulfur crouched down to meet her eyes.

"Behave." He simply said, lightly smacking her head with his finger. "Take it."

Sulfur held out the berry in an open palm, but Ren was a few seconds too late to grab it. A black figure swooped down snatched the berry out of Sulfur's hand.

"What the?" Sulfur questioned.

The black feathered flying type rested on a tree branch and greedily ate the berry. Suddenly the tree branches around the flying type were destroyed leaving splinters to fly in every direction. Despite the small amount of destruction, the flying type hovered in place seemingly unaffected.

Ren gave a war cry, more or less, and continued to send wave after wave of confusion all to no effect. Finally, growing tired, the flying type came crashing down on Ren with a well aimed peck attack sending her flying back.

"Ren!" Sulfur called out. "Arceus damn you, stupid bird!"

The bird gave one last squawk and flew away leaving a shocked Sulfur and an extremely enraged Ren behind. Ren began to yell out various curses, all unintelligible to Sulfur.

"Well I guess that's that then." Sulfur said annoyed. "Are you okay?"

Ren had taken little damage but the way her attack didn't do a thing bothered her the most. She stood up dusting herself off.

Sulfur gave a sigh of relief. "Well that was my last kelpsy berry. It would be best if we were to head inside. I'm sure Topaz must have something ready for me by now."

Ren remained silent. She gave a slight nod and a small sniff as she followed Sulfur inside. Entering the Pokémon Center and making his way to his room, Sulfur was amazed to see a brand new pair of dark green pants.

"So, how was practice?" Topaz asked through a mouthful of pins. She was pinning together pieces of fabric.

"We made progress of course. Then a wild flying type snatched the kelpsy berry I was about to give to Ren right out of my hands!" Sulfur explained annoyed. Ren also gave a cry of annoyance. "You seem to have completed the pants at least." Topaz chuckled to herself as she listened to Sulfur's story.

"Ah, too bad I wasn't there. But yes, I did manage to finish the pants. They're much easier to tailor if they don't fit. As where a shirt has to fit just right." Topaz explained. "So go try on the pants and show me how they fit."

Sulfur grabbed the pants and started towards to bathroom. "Look after my stuff while I'm gone Ren." Sulfur walked in and shut the door.

"Yea, as if I want any of your things." Topaz continued on with her task.

Ren grew curious of the task being performed by Topaz. Ren had always wondered why humans wear cloth over their bodies. Climbing the table, Ren began to observe Topaz as she pinned cloth together. Sulfur came out of the bathroom with the new pants on.

"I'm afraid these pants might fall apart at any moment." Sulfur said worried. Topaz turned to look over at Sulfur.

"I know I'm not the best seamstress, but there's no need to worry about my work. There's no chance of those pants ever coming apart. I'm confident in my work." Topaz walked over to Sulfur and kneeled down to adjust the bottom of his pant legs. She placed on one pin and stood up. "Are the pants loose around your waist or anywhere?" Topaz asked.

"They are fine. I have never worn anything made by hand." Sulfur said, looking over his pants. Topaz also looked over the pants, circling around Sulfur to make sure her work was done right.

"Alright then. I'll fix the bottoms later. Take them off and put them to the side. Once you've changed, I need to see if I cut the shirt pieces the right size for you." Topaz went back to her pinning task. Sulfur went back into the bathroom to change.

Ren continued to look on to all the fabrics lying around and decided to pick one up.

"*Weird.*"

Sulfur came back out wearing his usual attire. Setting the pants off to the side, he waited for the next set of instructions. Topaz grabbed the pinned up garment and slowly walked over to Sulfur.

"Ok, you have to take off your sweater again and be very careful when putting on this… shirt." Topaz said.

Sulfur eyed the shirt he was given. "Now this looks as if it might fall apart." Sulfur commented taking off his sweater.

"Not before poking you, it won't." Topaz replied.

Carefully putting the shirt on, Sulfur looked to Topaz for further instructions. Topaz pinned the shirt closed and stepped back.

"Ok. Slowly and carefully, move your arms and tell me if the shirt fits or if it tight or really anything." Topaz instructed.

"It is comfortable enough i suppose, this will do." Sulfur finished.

"You have to be completely honest with me, Sulfur. You sure there's nothing wrong with it?" Topaz asked.

"It is fine. You seem to have stuck to the theme of green." Sulfur said.

"Well, Walter isn't exactly orange, now is he?" Topaz retorted as she unpinned the shirt and carefully took it off Sulfur. "Well I guess I'll just sew this up and I should be finished by tomorrow." Topaz carefully placed down the shirt and started to clear the table from all the scrap fabric. "By the way, as I was sewing the pants, I thought maybe Ren can have maybe an accessory of her own. No offense, but without a pokedex, it's hard to tell her gender. Also, an accessory might boost up her cute factor." Topaz said as she pulled out her measuring tape again.

"Accessory? What kind of accessory?" Sulfur asked confused. Topaz walked back to the table where Ren sat and looked down at the small Pokémon.

"Well, if Ren wants to cooperate with me, it would be a headband with a nice purple flower. All I have to do is measure her head." Topaz answered.

"Sounds nice, and you should not worry yourself. Ren cooperates all the time." Sulfur said attempting to reassure Topaz.

"Last time she didn't. Alright." Topaz sighed and began wrapping the tape around Ren's head. After a quick measure, Topaz removed the tape. "Okay, there. Done." Topaz wrote a number down in her notepad close by and placed down a sewing machine on the table.

"See? That was not so bad." Sulfur said.

"Yeah, yeah. She only behaved because you were around to watch her. You weren't there when we went shopping." Topaz muttered. She grabbed the pinned up shirt and began to sew some pieces together. "Anyways, were you able to get the performance down or not? Because you still have to learn how to battle."

"Of course, but why must I learn to battle again?" Sulfur asked confused.

"Because there's a lot more than just winning. Actually, you might enjoy the battle stage as it does take a lot of strategy. You have to win and add flair to the battle at the same time. Of course, the flair is more towards your Pokémon." Topaz explained without losing focus at her task.

"Flair you say? Sounds interesting." Sulfur said thinking about what he can do to make a Turtwig impress an audience.

"It's definitely interesting to watch that's for sure. Some coordinators use their opponent's moves against them by using the moves to bring out different traits of their own Pokémon. Like the shine of your opponent's move can be use to show the beauty of your Pokémon, making your opponent lose points." Topaz explained.

"Sounds rather complicated. I might have to delve into this more than I had originally intended." Sulfur said

"I told you, contests take a lot of work. They're much more difficult than simple gym battles but I think in the end you just might enjoy them. They include more brainpower than gyms." Topaz replied.

"Right then. Tomorrow I will practice with Walter as well." Sulfur finished.

As the day came to a close, both trainers finished their tasks for the day and headed to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a busy one as it was the last day for preparation.

Topaz was the first one to wake up the next morning. She decided to change into much more comfortable clothing as she was going to spend most of the day sitting. After putting on some sweatpants, Topaz removed her gloves and put on a long sleeve sweater. Once dressed, she took a pair of scissors and began to cut apart her purple gloves.

Sulfur woke up soon after and made his way to the bathroom. After grooming he dressed himself in his signature yellow hoodie and grabbed his equipment.

"I will start Walter's training today." Sulfur stated picking up his half asleep Ralts under his arm.

"Alright, I'll be here sewing. Don't let any more birds take your lunch away." Topaz teased. She pushed aside her cut up gloves and once again pulled out the sewing machine.

Out in the training grounds, Sulfur stood attempting to think of a way to battle and making his Pokémon shine while doing it. Ren sat on a bench in the background clearly still sleeping.

"I got it! Walter we will make use of your razor leaf attack to cut through the competition." Sulfur said.

Walter cringed a bit but nodded in understanding. Ren suddenly woke up and booed at Sulfur.

A new trainer stepped in and interrupted the training session. The blue eyed, dark haired trainer walked up to Sulfur.

"So, I couldn't help overhearing your little speech, mainly because I was making my own way over here. Are you entering in this town's contest?" the new trainer asked Sulfur.

"As a matter of fact I am, are you another contestant?" Sulfur replied. The trainer smiled.

"Yeah, actually I am. I was hoping to get in some last minute training before tomorrow." The blue eyed trainer pulled out a pokéball. "You wouldn't mind having a practice battle with me, would you?"

"It would be rude of me to decline, I accept." Sulfur said as he ran to one end of the battlefield.

"Sweet!" The trainer ran over to the opposite side of the battlefield.

"Walter, get ready to start!" Sulfur said. Turtwig stood by awaiting further instructions from his trainer.

"Alright, Marina! Be ready!" The other trainer tossed out his pokéball, revealing to own a Piplup. Upon appearing, the Piplup gave out a happy whistle at the sight of Walter.

Sulfur looked on curious at his opponent's decision. Proceeding with caution he began.

"Walter! Razor leaf!" Sulfur stated. Immediately blades of leaves flew towards the Piplup damaging it.

"Marina, let's go with bubble!" The trainer called out to his Piplup. Piplup did what was commanded of her but instead of attacking Walter, the small blue Pokémon began jumping on each floating bubble, rising higher into the air.

"Walter, knock it out of the sky with another razor leaf." Walter launched another set of razor leaf, popping all the bubbles on its way up to the Piplup. With each bubble popped, sparkles were made and began to follow after Piplup. Eventually, the razor leaf began to catch up to Piplup and soon popped the final bubble she was on.

"Marina, use peck!" The trainer called out. As the Piplup began to fall, her beak began to glow white and she began aim downward towards Walter. In mid fall, Piplup began to spin, making her attack much stronger once it finally landed on Walter. As Piplup jumped back to her place, the falling sparkles from before showered around her.

"Oh dang." Sulfur simply said.

"A nice little surprise, don't you think?" The trainer called out Sulfur. "Took us a while to get that down without popping the bubbles ourselves." The small Piplup gave out another happy whistle at her accomplishment.

"Interesting." Sulfur thought to himself. "I see what Topaz meant by flair now." Sulfur looked to Walter who was recovering from the recent blow. It looked as if this fight wasn't going fall to the traditional type advantage. "Walter use tackle!" The Turtwig quickly charged. Marina, who was ready for the attack, quickly dodged. Suddenly, Turtwig sent out red beam of light that began to absorb the Piplup's health. Sulfur took this opportunity to end it. "Razor leaf attack!" With two last blades of leaves hitting the unbalanced Piplup, it was over.

"Well, what a way to go! Nice job there!" The trainer smiled and walked over to pick up his Pokémon. "But a little side note, in a real contest battle, you would've lost a lot of points before defeating me." The trainer explained.

"Interesting, definitely something I will have to take into account during the contest." Sulfur thought out loud. "Thanks a lot friend." The trainer smiled.

"Well, it may be a competition but who says we can't help each other out. Hey, thanks for the practice battle. I still have a few last minute things to do but I can't wait to see you and your Pokémon tomorrow. Might be fun to have another battle. See you tomorrow!" The trainer waved at Sulfur as he walked away while Marina whistled her own goodbye to Walter.

"Right, see you." Sulfur waved goodbye and tended to Walter's bruises. "Well, at least we can be certain this contest will be really interesting."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Camera! Lights! Appeal!**

Excitement rose through the streets of Floaroma Town as the day of the contest drew near. The townspeople and tourists all began to pour into the hall to grab their seats and confectionarys as the contestants prepared themselves for the coming event.

Sulfur was among those contestants. Sulfur stood in the contestant lobby looking bewildered with a Ralts on his head wondering where Topaz was with his contest outfit.

"Where is the woman?" Sulfur asked annoyed. As he was asking that, Sulfur was pulled aside by a tired Topaz.

"Okay, I finally finished everything. All the buttons are on and here's Ren's headband. Go change and make sure the flower is on the higher part of the left side of her head. I'll meet you at the contestant lobby when you're done." Topaz quickly explained.

"Flower, wha-?" Sulfur said asked but was quickly pushed into his booth. Sulfur quickly changed into the new outfit made for him.

The first thing Sulfur changed into was the light green, dress shirt that fitted quite comfortably. He then placed on the well fitted pants that were a slightly darker shade of green. After tucking in the dress shirt and putting on his shoes, Sulfur went forth to putting on the matching yellow tie. The brown vest was the final garment to be worn to make the outfit complete. Sulfur turned to Ren who had been standing patiently and placed the headband how he was instructed to.

Exiting the booth, both Pokémon and trainer were ready for the upcoming event. Both Sulfur and Ren quickly made their way to the coordinator lobby waiting to be called out. The lobby was a reasonably sized room with many coordinators and Pokémon talking amongst themselves and intently watching a big monitor. There were seven minutes to showtime.

Sulfur looked around the lobby and noticed a certain dark haired coordinator from before. He was wearing a blue suit that made his hair color pop out more.

*Had it always been blue?* Sulfur thought to himself.

The mystery coordinator had a Kirlia wearing a red bowtie. The coordinator looked over to Sulfur and began making his way to greet him.

"Hey, you made it! I was wondering when you'd get here." the trainer said as he looked over Ren. "Didn't know you had a cute little Ralts if your own."

"Of course I would make it. I have put too much effort into this to just let it go to waste." Sulfur replied while Ren blushed slightly at the compliment. "Your Kirlia is also well kept. I am assuming it's male." The trainer smiled at the mention of his Pokémon.

"Yup! Little Rico here is all male despite wearing a skirt." The trainer teased has the Kirlia sent a wink over to Ren.

Ren flinched and hid behind Sulfur's head uncomfortably. The sound of music and a cheering crowd drew everyone's attention to the monitor as the hostess began her introduction speech to the crowd. It wouldn't be long now before the contest truly began.

"Cy?!"

The dark haired trainer turned around at the sound of his apparent name and smiled when he saw who had called out to him.

"Paz!"

Topaz ran over to the male trainer and gave the trainer a hug.

"Cyan I can't believe you're here! I thought you wouldn't be back until another month. And if you're here, then where's…?" Topaz looked over behind Cyan and found Rico playfully hiding behind his trainer. "Rico!" The Kirlia let out a happy cry and jumped onto Topaz, who gave the Pokémon a tight hug. Topaz giggled the entire time.

Sulfur looked onto the scene that unraveled before him. Clearly there was some history between the two. As the small reunion was unfolding, Ren tapped Sulfur's head bringing his attention to the monitor up above. The contestant names were being lined up in order of their assigned number to start the appeals stage.

"It seems as if we will have to move this little reunion until after the contest." Sulfur stated. Topaz looked over to Sulfur and sighed.

"Yeah, fine. I guess you're right, Goldie. Oh, right. One last thing before you both perform. Cy, this is Sulfur. He's our new neighbor from Hoenn." Topaz said as she handed back Rico.

"Well, I'm finally glad to know your name. I forgot to introduce myself the other day during our battle. Sorry." Cyan said while looking over to Sulfur.

Sulfur nodded as Topaz left the lobby. Now everyone sat eagerly waiting to be called up.

"Let's topple the competition, Ren." Sulfur said to his Ralts. Ren gave her bell in agreement.

Out on the stage, the hostess was finishing introducing the judges.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen I hope you're pumped! Get ready to see trainer and Pokémon give it their all on stage!" The hostess said while the crowd cheered. "Let's get started!"

The crowd cheered for each trainer that ran up on stage. One after another, each showed off the best they could, earning the crowd's aprovement and scoring some points with the judges. Finally, it was Sulfur's turn.

The hostess began. "I hope you're ready for our next competitor! All the the way from Hoenn! Sulfur and his Ralts, Ren!"

Sulfur ran on stage, pokéball and capsule ready. "Let's do this." Sulfur said giving his pokeball a quick kiss. "Ren! Appeal!.

The pokeball burst open with a shower of flower petals as the small Ralts landed on stage. All cameras focused on Ren as she began to feel nervous of all the eyes looking her way.

"*I've never seen so many humans in one place.*" Ren whispered nervously to herself.

Topaz sat in the crowd, taking part in making Ren nervous, which was clear from far away.

"C'mon, Ren. It's not the time to get stage fright. You have to perform." Topaz said to herself.

Slowly, feelings of cheerfulness and happiness began to fill Ren, calming her down and warming her body up a little. Despite his calm demeanor, Sulfur felt joy rise up inside him from being on stage. The cheering crowd and bright lights had gotten the better of him. Now with both contestants ready, Sulfur felt a big grin stretch across his face as he began.

"Ren! Let's begin! Double team!" Sulfur command excitedly.

Picking up on Sulfur's emotions, Ren continued more confidently. Ren created various clones of herself, each one danced around cutely while two began to face each other.

"Growl!" Sulfur continued.

The two Ralts used growl loud enough for two rings to come forth, continually slamming into each other behind the prancing Ralts.

"Alright! Finish it off with confusion." Sulfur said giving his last command.

One of the prancing Ralts turned and caught a ring of sound using her psychic abilities and held it above herself. The other clones began to dance around the circle for a short while before lining up side by side with the Ralts holding the ring. Finally the center Ralts unleashed the psychic circle, sending the sound of a Ralts Bell cry into the audience. Each Ralts bowed and disappeared until Ren was left in the center. Suddenly a huge roar of cheering came from the stage.

The hostess began. "That was adorable! This pair knew how to deliver!"

The judges, looking impressed, wrote down their scores for the computer. They gave Sulfur and Ren all circles, signifying they were satisfied with the performance. Overwhelmed with happiness, Sulfur picked up Ren and ran off stage.

The hostess continued. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're all excited for our next contender! Let's all give them a hand!"

Cyan stepped out onto the stage once the hostess presented.

*It's great to be back on stage!* Cyan pulled out a pokéball and tossed up.

"Let's go, Rico! Be ready!" As the capsule opened, a line of confetti flew up and formed a ball which then fell to the ground and exploded, revealing a posing Kirlia, ready to provide a show. Cyan smiled at his ridiculous acting Pokémon.

"Rico, calm mind!" Rico closed his eyes and began to spin around as his body began to glow a faint blue color. Upon spinning a full circle, Rico opened his eyes which also had a faint blue glow to them before fading.

"Now, magical leaf!" Rico brought his arms above his head and as he brought them down to his sides, two sets out magical leaves flew out in opposite directions. Timing it right, Cyan called out his next attack.

"Quickly, psychic!" With a look of concentration, Rico's eyes began to glow a light blue as he captured both sets of magical leaves in a blue aura. As he moved his arms smoothly, Rico formed two small butterflies with the glowing leaves. Moving them around quickly, Rico moved the butterflies closer together.

"Finish it with teleport!" Rico released the leaf butterflies and disappeared as they began to collide with one another, showering down sparkles toward the ground. Rico reappeared in the midst of the shower, posing once more and ending his performance. Cyan rushed to catch his Kirlia, smiling all the while. Both Cyan and Rico turned toward the judges, waiting for their final score.

Sulfur was amazed, certainly less complicated and yet they were able to provide such an amazing performance.

Clearly there was more to this contest business than Sulfur had originally anticipated.

The hostess again spoke interrupting Sulfurs thoughts. "Amazing performance! Let's all give them a round of applause!"

The entire stadium erupted in cheers of applause as the judge showed their scores. The duo left the stage content and confident they would advance. Sulfur looked on from back stage.

*They might prove to be more of an obstacle than I originally thought.* Sulfur thought to himself. .

Topaz smiled at the end of Cyan and Rico's performance. She quickly got out of her seat and made her way back to the contestant lobby.

Cyan and Rico also made their way back to the lobby. Upon spotting Sulfur, Cyan walked up to the trainer and his Ralts.

"You did pretty great for your first time. Your Ralts was extremely adorable, too." Cyan commented.

"Yes, hopefully that will be enough to make the cut as well." Sulfur replied.

"Don't worry too much about it. That was a really unique way of using growl. I would have never thought of that." Cyan said admiringly. As the two contestants were talking, Topaz finally walked in the lobby.

"Well, there's my little cute guy. Perfectly silly like always." Topaz said as she grabbed Rico. Topaz then looked over at Sulfur and Ren. "Way to go out there, you two. You really made that performance your own. Especially with that growl in the end. Nice work, Ren." Topaz said.

Ren smiled at the short praise as Sulfur gave a thankful nod. The act had been greatly altered by Sulfur much to Topaz's surprise. Ren did get cold feet upon her entrance but in the end, the performance was executed flawlessly.

Some time past as coordinator after coordinator attempted to appeal to the judges. Appeals of all kinds showing off the Pokémon best attributes. The crowd went crazy for each new Pokémon, excited to see what the next team would provide for them. However, not all will make the cut and that was made evident as soon as the screen in the lobby began to list photos of those who had passed.

"Everyone give it up for our coordinators who made it to the next round!" The hostess cheered as the crowd applauded. "We're going to take a quick intermission while our coordinators prepare for the next round! Get ready to see battles that will make you say wow!"

Sulfur smiled as he saw his face displayed on the screen. He had made a good enough impression to move on to the second round. Upon closer inspection, Sulfur noticed Cyan was among those also chosen.

"This will certainly be interesting." Sulfur said to himself. Ren smiled as she felt Sulfurs feeling of excitement build inside her as well. Cyan smiled as well.

"Yup, it will be interesting. Hopefully, we might get to battle each other at the finals. On either case, may the best man win." Cyan said.

Sulfur gave one final nod as the the competitors were matched at random. His feelings of determination grew inside him as he looked on, feelings he had never before felt. Truly this was the rush Sulfur was searching for.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Stage Fight**

The screen in the contest lobby flashed the line up for the matches of the first round that would soon begin the eliminations. The first pair that would soon battle was that of Sulfur and another contestant. Topaz once again handed back Rico as she turned to face Sulfur.

"Well, looks like it's all you and your Pokémon, Sulfur. Better make this battle count if you want to get closer to the finals." Topaz said.

Sulfur nodded. "I have prepared as best I can but whether or not I win has yet to be decided. And by the way, I'm going to need you to take Ren." Sulfur said picking his Ralts off his head and holding her out to Topaz.

"You're kidding, right? Why can't you just put her in her pokéball?" Topaz asked, crossing her arms.

"I want her to get a feel for how a contest looks on the outside looking in. Also, I can only have one Pokémon out at a time or I will be accused of cheating, doesn't help that she is a psychic type either." Sulfur reasoned handing over the annoyed Ralts.

"C'mon, Paz, you're great with Ralts. What makes cute, little Ren any different?" Cyan said, supporting Sulfur's case. Topaz held out Ren at arm's length.

"There's a difference between Ren and Rico where that Rico doesn't act unreasonably when I'm holding him." Topaz argued back. Topaz began to demonstrate her point as she tried to hold Ren the way she held Rico moments ago. Again, Ren began to squirm and cry as she tried to reach over to Sulfur with waving arms. "See?!"

Sulfur walked over to Ren and picked her up before placing her back down on Topaz's head. Sulfur gave Ren a stern look before she gave a defeated sigh.

"There." Sulfur said. "She will not struggle again." Topaz shrugged and gave out her own defeated sigh as there was no escape.

"Fine. I was having a bad case of bedhead anyways. I'm heading back." Topaz said as she walked out the lobby.

Sulfur smiled and looked back to the screen, attempting to remember everything he and Walter practiced yesterday. During the last training session, Sulfur battled with Cyan and though Sulfur still won, it was clear to Sulfur that simple strategy wasn't going to cut it this time. There was so much more in this battle type to take into account. Not only will Sulfur have to plan a way to win, but also to do it in a way that is appealing to the audience.

"You know, it's kind of nice to have someone like Topaz to help you out. I don't think she's ever done so much for a person before. I guess you're pretty lucky to have her around." Cyan spoke up, interrupting Sulfur's thoughts.

"Oh, it is useful to travel with companions." Sulfur said looking down to see his Turtwig looking up at him.

"Well sure but that's not what I meant. Topaz might have given some advice to a beginner for something in return but she actually made you an entire outfit, and by the sound of it, also gave you some pointers. I'm just surprised by her. I'm her best friend and she's never done anything big for me. I bet she made that little accessory too for your Ren, right?" Cyan asked.

Sulfur nodded before responding. "Yeah, she has been a lot of help getting me prepared for this contest."

The T.V. once again garnered everyone's attention as Sulfur was called out to the stage. Everyone looked ready to take

"It appears as if my time to battle has come." Sulfur said.

Sulfur made his way from the lobby to the backstage where he prepared to make his appearance. After his battle with Cyan, Sulfur realized that defeating his opponent would not be enough to win. He would have to find a way to make the battle appealing, more so in his favor than his opponent. Sulfur only needed to put his new knowledge into play.

Putting his worries aside, Sulfur made his way to the battlefield. He was determined to focus on the battle at hand and worry about his outcome later. Once Sulfur's opponent was ready opposite of the field, the hostess began to speak.

"Alright everybody! The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived! With this battle, we will be starting off the contest battle round! Now, with five minutes on the clock, let the battle begin!"

"Go! Bidoof!" The opposing coordinator cried as a Bidoof burst out if its pokéball ready to fight.

"Walter!" Sulfur said calling out his Turtwig.

Sulfur's opponent wasted no time and immediately launched on the offensive.

"Bidoof, use headbutt!" Bidoof charged at Turtwig, launching itself a short distance before crashing back down on to Walter.

"Steady yourself Walter! Use absorb!" Sulfur commanded.

Walter stood his ground as the Bidoof smashed into Walter's skull. While the Bidoof attempted to recover, Walter used his red beam to begin absorbing the life force of his opponent. Not leaving any time to recover, Walter smashed his entire body into Bidoof, launching him back to his side of the field.

"Get back up Bidoof and use defense curl!" Bidoof got back on his feet and quickly rolled up into a tight ball.

Using the opening, Walter quickly ran towards the Bidoof, attempting to land a tackle. Before the attack had a chance to land, the trainer called out another surprising command.

"Now, Bidoof! Substitute!" The Bidoof uncurled its body and stood still as Walter rammed his body into his opponent. Upon the direct hit, the still Bidoof poofed into white smoke, confusing Walter greatly.

"What? Where did it go?" Sulfur called out confused.

"Alright, Bidoof! Let's keep this up with roll out!" The opposing coordinator called out. The small beaver Pokémon was in the air above the battlefield. It again rolled up and allowed gravity to strengthen its attack towards Walter.

"Intercept it with razor leaf!" Sulfur called out.

Walter launched a razor leaf attack on the Bidoof. Blade after blade hit the Bidoof but failed to stop it in neither its attack nor point gainage. Walter was sent flying back losing a great many points.

"Alright, Walter use razor leaf and chain it with absorb!" Sulfur commanded.

With that, Walter launched a coil of razor leaf before sending an red beam through the center. The Bidoof was bombarded with more leaves as it had its energy drained. At the end of the attack the Bidoof stood tall looking powerful as ever.

"What?" Sulfur questioned. "That attack should have ended it!"

The opposing coordinator laughed. "Do you really think some lame combo was going to beat us? Let's end this, Bidoof! Use headbutt!"

The Bidoof did not move, however, and collapsed to the floor.

"Bidoof, no!" The coordinator called out to his fallen friend.

Topaz let out sigh.

"Well, Sulfur really got lucky with that last combo. Call it a really lucky and anticlimactic win." Topaz said. Topaz looked up at the Ralts still on her head who was clearly happy and cheering for her trainer and friend.

The hostess spoke up. "And the winner by knockout is Sulfur!"

The crowd cheered for Sulfur as he was attempting to process what just happened. Sulfur decided to just let it go and embrace the moment as he picked up his Turtwig and waved to the crowd. The other coordinator returned his Bidoof and ran off stage.

As Sulfur entered the lobby he was approached by Cyan.

"Nice win there, Sulfur. But again, I think you could've used that combo and others from the very beginning. You lost a lot of points out there." Cyan said.

"I guess I got caught up in the moment." Sulfur replied. "I'll take that into consideration in the future." Cyan let out a sympathetic chuckle.

"Alright, and keep in mind your razor leaf attack. It's a move that can greatly benefit a trainer in battle. Whether or not that trainer is you."

Just then Topaz walked in with a cheering Ralts on her head.

"Just because I have bedhead don't mean your little Pokémon can dance around on it and make it more messy." Topaz said as she handed over Ren to Sulfur. "By the way, you got extremely lucky there at the end."

"So I've heard." said Sulfur as his Ralts climbed its way to his head.

"Well, let's hope your next opponent won't be that hard to beat. That was too close of a call." Topaz said as she crossed her arms. Cyan looked over to Topaz and chuckled to himself.

"Nice green gloves there, Paz. They really match that purple shirt of yours." Cyan said as he smiled. Topaz looked down at her arms and quickly hid them behind her back like an embarrassed child.

"Well, of course they don't match. These aren't my usual gloves. I had to make new ones from the extra fabric I bought for Sulfur's shirt. I used my old ones for the dumb accessory I made for Ren. Besides, why are you so worried about my gloves? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your battle?" Topaz angrily asked.

"Alright, alright, I get it. No more teasing, I'll go. But, hey, wish me luck!" Cyan laughed happily as he left the lobby.

Sulfur and Topaz gave a wave goodbye as Cyan made his way to the stage.

"Well, I might as well go back to the stands. Do you want me to keep babysitting Ren or wait until the semifinals?" Topaz asked Sulfur.

"Let us wait until the semifinals." Sulfur answered. "I am very interested to see Cyan perform."

Cyans performance was well planned and well executed. In the end, Cyan eliminated his opponent by depleting their points gauge. Clearly, Cyan was more experienced competing in contest. Sulfur was going to have to learn more if he was to compete with the best.

With the preliminaries done and over with, Sulfur would have to work harder to make to the finals.

The stage lights shown down on Sulfur. Once more, he stood in front of his next opponent, a timid looking coordinator and her Pokémon Buneary. As unintimidating as they may be, it did not stop Sulfur from his planning.

The hostess again began spewing excitement to the crowd. "Welcome to everybody to the semi finals! The conclusion to these next few battles will determine who will compete for the Floaroma ribbon! Now without anymore delay! With five minutes on the clock, let's begin!"

"Turtwig! Razor leaf!" Sulfur called out quickly.

But the Buneary quickly counter attacked with an ice beam freezing the attack in mid flight. As the frozen leaves continued to fly towards the Buneary, one of Buneary's arms began to glow white. Before the leaves could hit Buneary, it swung its glowing arm and a white glowing blade destroyed the frozen leaves, leaving sparkles behind to shine over Buneary's successful attack.

"Damn it!" Sulfur said to himself. The other coordinators must have taken note of Sulfur's use of razor leaf and planned around it.

"Now, ice beam on the ground, Buneary!" The Buneary quickly jumped off the ground and froze the ground with a light blue beam. The Buneary landed back down with perfect balance while Walter lost all balance, slipping around on the ground. The coordinator took this chance to continue.

"Now use quick attack, Buneary!" The Buneary moved quickly towards a slipping Walter and even more quickly with the ice. The Buneary looked like it was skating quickly over the ice. The attack landed, along with many others.

"Walter, withdraw!" Sulfur responded quickly.

The Turtwig did as commanded and retreated into its shell. Escaping the damage, the Buneary began sliding him around like a hockey puck. Sulfur, however, was not about to be shown up and used this to his advantage.

"Walter! Razor leaf!" Sulfur yelled.

Walter began to release a hurricane of razor leaves from every direction. Not even the swift Buneary could escape the blows. Walter regained his footing and charged at the buneary full force knocking it back.

"Walter! Razor leaf and follow it with absorb!" Sulfur said, unleashing his new taught combo move.

Turtwig launched the coil of razor leaf followed by the absorb beam through the center.

"Protect, Buneary!" Buneary stretched out both ears and crossed them, quickly forming a green bubble around its body. The combo move was destroyed upon contact with the green bubble, making Walter lose more points.

"Now let's go with a double pound attack!" Both of the Buneary's arms began to glow white. With one arm, Buneary broke its own bubble, creating shattered like glass that turned into sparkles behind it. With its second arm, Buneary quickly moved towards Walter, determined to land its attack.

Walter, however, was able to move out of the way just in time to dodge the attack. The ice shattered sending chunks flying in every direction. Walter again attempted a tackle only to miss as the Buneary jumped out of the way to safety.

"Buneary, quick attack!" Buneary moved quickly towards Walter a final time with the little ice that was left. The was able to land its attack before the timer went off.

"Wait, what?!" Sulfur said confused as he noticed the battle had reached its time limit.

"And the winner is Buneary!" The hostess spoke.

The large screen did not lie, Sulfur looked up to see that he had indeed lost. His points had been nearly depleted, while his opponent had barely lost any. The crowd cheered for his opponent but Sulfur felt crushed. No amount of planning had prepared him for this. Clearly he was simply out matched. Sulfur picked up his confused Turtwig and left the stage.

Back at the lobby Sulfur sat contemplating at his loss, he didn't notice his friends walking in. Topaz walked over to Sulfur and placed Ren on his head.

"I'm sorry you lost, Sulfur. I probably should've helped more with battle practice than making you a dumb outfit. This was your first contest." Topaz apologized as she looked down at the ground.

"It was my first contest, I was bound to lose anyways. I really appreciate the help you've given me recently, it really helped." Sulfur replied.

"But you made it to the semifinals! And contests are nothing more than simple strategy, which is what you're good at. I mean, you tried to help me back at Oreburgh when I had no chance at winning." Topaz argued back.

"Well in any case, I wouldn't have made it to where I am now without your help, right, Ren?" Sulfur said. Ren grabbed her headband and smiled at Topaz as if to say thank you.

"Well, if we're gonna be stuck together on this journey, I can't leave you hanging." Topaz replied back with a smile. "If you want, we can go to the Pokémart and the sandwiches are on me, along with Ren's candy."

"Sounds like fun." Sulfur said simply leaving the lobby with Topaz and a cheering Ren on his head. "I cannot shake the feeling that I am forgetting something though? Eh, it's probably not that important anyways."

With that, both trainers left to the Pokémart, with Sulfur leaving his pokédex behind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Aftermath**

With Sulfur's recent loss at the Floaroma contest, the competition continued without him. The contest eventually came down to Cyan and the trainer who had previously defeated Sulfur. It came close but in the end, Cyan struck a decisive victory, claiming the Floaroma Ribbon. With the contest over, Floaroma retarded to its original quiet little town atmosphere. The following morning, Sulfur was the first to awaken, still bothered by his loss.

Topaz woke up sometime after Sulfur and was the first to take the bathroom. After a quick shower, Topaz changed into a sleeveless, green kimono shirt in order to match her new gloves. After going to the Pokémart the day before, Topaz had gone out to buy a new shirt and some matching hiking boots similar to her purple ones. She continued to wear her blue bracelets as they matched her jeans. Once changed, Topaz walked back into the room.

"Still moping over there, Goldie?" Topaz asked, looking over at Sulfur at his side of the room.

"Just thinking. Clearly if I am to be successful, my strategies will need rethinking." Sulfur replied

"Well, at least you still win with your research. Scanning all the Pokémon you want." Topaz said, trying to comfort Sulfur.

"...I forgot to scan Pokémon!" Sulfur yelled out as the sudden realization hit him. "I was so caught up in the moment, I completely forgot about my research!"

"Well, looks like I made things worse." Topaz said to herself. Taking a moment to think, Topaz came up with an idea. "Hey, how about I teach you how to make poffins while we're still here. Every coordinator makes poffins for their Pokémon." Topaz offered.

"Poffins? What are those?" Sulfur looked up questioningly.

"Um...oh! Hoenn has something similar with their contests. Have you heard of pokéblock? Poffins are similar as they're contest treats, but they're not squares like pokéblock." Topaz explained.

"Interesting. Do they work in the same manner as pokéblocks?" Sulfur further questioned.

"Uh, well they should. I only know about pokéblock from Cyan. But from what my mom told me, poffins do help with different aspects of your Pokémon." Topaz said.

"Sounds like something I should invest time in." Sulfur said.

Just then there was a knock at the door interrupting the two trainers' conversation. Sulfur went to open the door and was greeted by the familiar nurse.

"Hello, I have a call for a Mister Sulfur." The nurse said.

"That would be me, ma'am." Sulfur said.

"There is a video booth set aside for you out in the lobby, booth number four." The nurse finished and left the room.

"Who could be calling me? Here of all places." Sulfur said picking up his sleeping Ralts like a rag doll. "You coming, Rocky?" Topaz sighed.

"Yeah, let me just get my bag." Topaz said. She packed up all her things and followed Sulfur out the door.

Upon entering the lobby, Sulfur made his way to the fourth video booth and answered the waiting caller.

"Hello?" Sulfur answered.

"Why didn't you tell me you were competing in a contest!" The voice on the other side yelled out

"M-mom?" Sulfur questioned.

Staring back at Sulfur through the screen was his mother, her yellow eyes burned into Sulfur, even through the screen.

"Don't even try and hide it. I saw you with my own two eyes on the T.V. You should've told me you wanted to be a coordinator! I could've given you so much advice!" Sulfur's mother said.

"Mother, I had only recently decided to try out contests. It's not something i had planned on doing until now." Sulfur said, attempting to appease his mother.

"I still would've at least liked a phone call or something! Anyways, where's Ren? Isn't she with you?" Sulfur's mother asked.

"Uh yeah." Sulfur replied, holding up the still sleeping Ralts. "She's not dead, just sleeping."

"Is she now?" Sulfur's mother replied with a grin "Ren! Mars is eating your breakfast!"

With that one phrase, Ren jumped out of Sulfur's hands and began running around aimlessly trying to find the family Arcanine before remembering she was in a Pokémon Center. She stood confused for a second until Sulfur picked her up and placed her in front of the monitor. Sulfur's mother smiled from across the monitor at the Ralts.

"Hi, Ren. I hope you and Sulfur had fun at the contest. I'm sorry you didn't win, but you did look adorable out there." Sulfur's mother said.

Ren blushed with embarrassment. She was thankful her hair covered up most of her face.

"C'mon, Goldie. We ain't got all day. We have a lot to do if we're going to the berry shop today." Topaz complained as she walked over to the booth.

"Looks like you've been busy Sulfur. Well, I wouldn't want to get in your way. Go and don't forget to call! I'm your mother for Arceus' sake." Sulfur's mother finished.

"Yes, Mom I will." With that, Sulfur said his goodbyes and got off the phone. "Looks as if my secret is out."

"Well, I didn't know that was your mom. I probably would've just waited if I did know. Probably should've told her about my mom, but knowing my own mother, she probably already introduced herself. And what secret were you trying to hide?" Topaz asked.

"No secrets, just didn't want my mom freaking out. She's a big fan of contests." Sulfur explained. Topaz awkwardly inhaled through her mouth when she heard that.

"Oooh. Then she should never meet my mother or go to my house. My mother was a top coordinator back in her day and she has the whole house decorated with ribbons, trophies and photos. She's the reason I know so much about contests. Honestly, if she's not talking about what she's going to feed my sister for lunch, she always has something new to tell me about contests." Topaz explained.

"Seeing as we are neighbors, she might already have. Anyways, are we going now?" Sulfur said

"Yes. We have a lot to do at the berry shop. Not only are we going to make poffins, we are also going to stock up on berries to make organic food for our Pokémon. So in conclusion, everyone is going to participate today." Topaz said. She pulled out her pokéballs and released all three of her Pokémon. "Let's go!"

"If you say so." Sulfur said, calling out his own grass type.

With the hustle of the contest gone, it was a calm and short walk to the berry shop near the outskirts of Floaroma Town. Topaz pulled out a small notepad and her pencil before they entered.

"Alright, after the Pokémon all choose their preferred berry flavor, we can start with the poffin making. Thankfully, Ren already has a favorite berry so we can start from there." Topaz said. She wrote down some notes. "Of course, the question is, what's her favorite flavor? Kelpsy berries have three." Topaz looked over at Sulfur for an answer.

"She seems to enjoy the dry berries." Sulfur explained. Topaz took a moment to think.

"Well, for a fact, Chesto and Wiki berries hold the record for being very dry berries. We can add a Pecha berry for sweetness since Ren likes candy. Or a Bluk berry, as it's both dry and sweet." Topaz suggested.

"Well as long as Kelpsy remains the main ingredient, she will eat it." Sulfur responded.

"Each poffin recipe is best done with two or more berries. We can have two to three Kelpsy along with one sweet berry or keep it as an all dry flavor. What would she want?" Topaz asked.

"I don't know, what do you want?" Sulfur asked Ren, holding her in front of his face. Ren stared back and gave him a look that said 'are you stupid?'. Realizing she wouldn't respond, Sulfur spoke. "I guess we'd better wait until we get there so they can pick them out themselves."

"Hm, I guess that was a dumb question on my part. Let's go out to the orchid and have them taste test the berries." Topaz said. She walked towards the back of the store where a door led outside to an actual orchid of many berries. "Okay then. Let's try some of the more common ones."

After spending half an hour trying different berries, Topaz finally had every Pokémon's preferred flavor, along with the flavors they didn't like.

"Well, this is perfect but also odd. Especially Ren. How can she like Kelpsy berries if they're partially bitter and still not like bitter berries? It's contradicting!" Topaz said frustrated.

"Aren't you supposed to be modest or something?" Sulfur asked Ren, who responded with a simple shrug.

"That explains way too much. But anyways, Walter likes bitter flavors so you might have to make two sets of different poffins for them, or find a middle ground." Topaz said.

"I'm not sure if I can find a middle ground. I'm afraid that cooking ability is far from what I am capable of." Sulfur responded.

"Well, lucky for you, poffins come in different colors just like pokéblock, so no worries in mixing them up. Also, one batch makes a lot of poffins so even less worries about work. So, let's head inside and buy the berries. I think I know which berries we need." Topaz said as she headed back inside. She scribbled more into her notepad and ripped out the page. Topaz walked over to the counter where a young lady stood.

"Have you decided on what to buy?" the woman asked. Topaz nodded and handed over the small paper.

"Yes. I need all the berries on this list please. There's an amount of each berry that we need." Topaz replied. The woman smiled.

"Alright, I'll be right back with your order." the woman left and went to a small room behind the counter. Topaz opened her bag and pulled out her purse. She opened the purse and pulled out a large amount of money. "Hm, this should be enough to pay for it all." Topaz put away her purse and looked over to Sulfur. "Once we have all the berries, we'll sort them out and head to the kitchen in the Pokémon Center. Do you want to make Ren's poffins or Walter's first?"

"Let's do Ren's." Sulfur said as his Ralts was smacking the top of his head repeatedly while making Chimchar sounds. "She seems eager to try them." Topaz giggled.

"Well then. I guess I know whose food I'm making first." Topaz teased. As this was happening, the woman from before came back with two large bags.

"Alright, here is your berry order. Each berry is in its own box of a dozen and the extras are in their own small pouches. Would you like some complimentary pouches with your order?" the young woman asked.

"Yes, please. One for each different berry." Topaz responded. The woman took out several pouches from under the counter and placed them in one of the bags. She walked over to the cash register and tallied up the total price.

"That will be 4,960 PokéYen." Topaz handed over the exact amount that was in her hand. The woman recounted the money and smiled. "Thank you and have a nice day!' Topaz grabbed the two bags and handed one to Sulfur.

"Let's go make those poffins." Topaz said.

Once the trainers left, they headed straight for the Pokémon Center. With the nurse's permission, they had full use of the Pokémon food kitchen. Unloading all the berries on to the counter, they began to work.

"I guess we should start with these." Sulfur said bringing out some of the Kelpsy berries. Topaz took out her notepad and opened it.

"Okay, we only need two Kelpsy berries for Ren's batch. We also need a one Charti berry and Kasib berry." Topaz instructed. Topaz looked over to her Pokémon. "Ray, get a cutting board. Rose, a pot and Achi I need a spoon and a knife." The three Pokémon nodded and went off to search for their items. Topaz looked through the bags and pulled out two different boxes. She opened the boxes and took a berry from each. She set aside the yellow seed berry and the pink flower berry and marked the boxes with Ren's name on the cover. Topaz turned around when she heard a strange noise behind her and noticed that the pots were on a shelf too high for her Budew to reach. Topaz picked up Rose and grabbed a pot. " Maybe you can help me sort out the berries instead." Topaz said. Rose made a happy sound as she was placed on the counter. Both Achi and Ray returned with their items which Topaz took. "Thanks guys. Okay, Goldie. Do you have the two Kelpsy berries?" Topaz asked as she filled the pot with water.

"Right here." Sulfur said yanking away some Kelpsy berries from Ren who was desperately holding on to.

"Ren, if you eat all the berries, you're not going to have any food later." Topaz said. She placed all the berries on the board and started to cut up one of the Kelpsy berries. "Alright. All you have to do is cut up the berries like this so they can easily cook and melt as the water boils." Topaz explained.

Sulfur cautiously picked up the knife and began to chop up the berries as instructed. Sulfur had never cooked before and the weight of a knife felt foreign to him. With the chopping out of the way, Sulfur slid the berry pieces into the pot of water and turned on the stove. Sulfur used the pokétch to set a timer for a minute while the berries cooked.

"While you cook that, make sure to stir constantly so it can melt. Try not to stir too slow or fast. You don't want to spill it or burn it." Topaz explained further. She pulled out a box and began to place some berries in a pouch.

Again, doing as he was told, Sulfur began to stir the pot with a curious Ralts on his head. The water began to boil as the berries soon became a part of the liquid inside the pot.

"What's with the gloves?" Sulfur said suddenly. Topaz looked up at Sulfur with a confused look.

"Well, I needed new ones after I cut up my old ones. We were all there when that happened, remember?" Topaz responded. She grabbed another box as Rose held out a pouch for Topaz.

"I remember, what I meant was why do you wear them." Sulfur said pressing the issue.

"They're fashionable and there are different styles. Also they keep my arms warm." Topaz answered. "Achi, hand me that bowl please. Hey, turn off the stove. Your pokétch is beeping." Topaz grabbed the bowl Achi held up and reached over for a mold. "Pour the liquid into this mold."

"Alright." Sulfur said letting go of the topic temporarily.

With the boiling broth ready, Sulfur took the pot and proceeded pour it out onto the mold Topaz handed to him. Once finished, he decided to ask Topaz a few more questions.

"Why do you like Cyan's Kirlia so much?" asked Sulfur.

"Because he has a better personality than Ren." Topaz quickly replied sarcastically.

Ren gave a low growl as Sulfur petted her, trying to calm her down.

"That's a little rude wouldn't you agree?" Sulfur responded. Topaz chuckled.

"Sorry, I just wanted a reaction. I'm satisfied now, but to be honest, there is a reasonable answer. Cyan has had Rico for as long as you probably had Ren but we raised him together ever since he hatched. That's why I treat him the way I do. Even though he belongs to Cyan, I feel like Rico is my Pokémon too." Topaz said. "I guess that's why it bugs me so much that Ren always squirms when I hold her but each Pokémon is different." Topaz continued. She reached over for the cutting board and began to cut up the same berries from the poffin recipe.

"I guess I would be bothered as well if I couldn't connect with a Pokémon species I was experienced with." Sulfur said sympathetically. Topaz shrugged.

"Not every Pokémon from the same species acts the same. Like for one, Rico loves sweet berries and hates dry ones which is different for Ren." Topaz explained. Topaz started to laugh to herself. "But you should count yourself lucky to have me around. At least I've been around a Ralts long enough so I don't have to kidnap yours."

"Aren't I lucky." Sulfur said."Anyway what's next?" Topaz grabbed the filled mold and placed it in the oven nearby.

"We just let them finish cooking in the oven. And now we have to cook Walter's batch." Topaz said. She grabbed the pot and started to wash it along with the dirty spoon. "You can use the cutting board again. I'm done with it. Just dump those chopped berries into that bowl."

Sulfur again began to chop berries in a similar fashion to the Kelpsy berries. He was cutting until he finally noticed what Topaz was doing.

"Why in the reverse world are you washing the dishes with your gloves on?" Sulfur asked bothered. Topaz froze when she was caught in her action. She quickly tried to think of an excuse.

"Who says I can't wash dishes with my gloves on?" Topaz asked. She filled the pot with water once more and grabbed a towel. "It's not like it affects you in any way." Topaz walked back to the oven and pulled out the finished poffins. She set the mold on the counter and tried to avoid eye contact as she went to grabbed a plate.

"It may not affect me directly, but not often will someone wear a pair of gloves in the kitchen sink, unless they are rubber of course, which yours are not." Sulfur said.

"So? Who cares? It's not like they won't dry in a little bit." Topaz argued back. She flipped the mold over the plate. The blue, pink sprinkled poffins fell onto the plate. Topaz grabbed the plate and walked over to Sulfur. "Besides, the better question is whether or not Ren likes these poffins."

Ren's excitement outweighed Sulfur's curiosity, so he decided to let Topaz's ridiculous antics pass for now. Ren eagerly picked up a poffin using her psychic abilities and brought it to her hands. As soon as Ren bit into the poffin, she gave a cry of joy.

"Looks like she likes them, how did you come up with a recipe so quickly?" Sulfur asked.

"Well it wasn't exactly easy when I was restricted to just Kelpsy berries but I remembered that some flavors can be neutralized with other berries. Again, with my mom being an ex coordinator, she taught me these things. I just had to get rid of the sour aftertaste of the Kelpsy berry and add in berries that naturally have a sweetness to them. Ren does love dry flavors, but I thought she would enjoy some sweetness like candy." Topaz roughly explained.

"Well looks like having a coordinator mother ended up being a plus." Sulfur said impressed with Topaz's knowledge. Topaz smiled.

"I guess so. Hopefully Walter likes his poffins just as much as Ren, His recipe is bitter-sour." Topaz set the plate on the counter. "I guess Ren can have a few more. These will last a while." Topaz picked up the cutting board and dumped the cut up berries into the pot and started cooking.

Both trainers cooked poffins and made food for their Pokémon. By the end of the day, Topaz and Sulfur had made an assortment of blue and green poffins for Ren and Walter to enjoy, as well as several cans of food for all their Pokémon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly**

As the sun peeked its way over the horizon, the two trainers prepared for their journey toward the long awaited Eterna City and its gym. After preparations were complete, Sulfur and Topaz, along with a sleepy Ren, made their way through Route 205, with the goal of reaching Eterna Forest.

Upon reaching a river, Topaz stopped and looked to Sulfur.

"We should probably take a break here. We still have a ways until we reach the forest and we've walked for a good while now." Topaz suggested.

"Indeed, I could use some resting time." Sulfur said. Topaz set down her bag and pulled out a few cans. She pulled out a few bowls and released her Pokémon.

"I declare it to be lunch time!" Topaz declared. She handed each of her Pokémon a bowl of fresh food.

"What? You can't just say it's lunch time and expect it to actually BE lunch time." Sulfur retorted.

"I never SAID it was lunch time. I DECLARED it. Sheesh, ruining everything." Topaz replied back.

Sulfur gave a sigh before pulling out his canister of Pokémon food he made yesterday. Calling out his Turtwig, Sulfur poured out some food into separate bowls so Walter and Ren could begin to eat.

"Sandwich?" Topaz asked, holding up a sandwich towards Sulfur.

"Yes please." Sulfur said taking the sandwich. Topaz pulled out another sandwich for herself and took a bite out of. She took a moment to think before speaking.

"Do you want to have a practice battle?" Topaz asked between bites.

"It's been awhile since I had a real battle, so why not." Sulfur replied.

"Cool. Ray needs training." Topaz said as she began petting her Shinx.

"Who would you prefer to battle with?" Sulfur asked motioning to his Pokémon.

"Well Ren hasn't done battling but I guess Walter could use more practice in contest battles, especially with his razor leaf." Topaz said.

"What do you say Walter, you in?" Sulfur asked his grass type. Walter nodded accepting the challenge. "Walter will fight your Shinx then Topaz." Sulfur finished.

"Nice. I have something in mind." Topaz said. She finished her sandwich and stood up. "Let's start."

Sulfur dashed away from Topaz to get some distance between them. Walter took his spot on front oh his trainer ready for battle.

"Alright. Ray, let's go." Topaz called out. Ray ran after his trainer and stood ready. "You want to have the first move, Goldie?" Topaz asked confidently.

"Ladies first." Sulfur replied in a cocky tone. Topaz rolled her eyes.

"Ray, charge." Topaz said. Ray stood his ground and began charging electricity.

Taking the opportunity Sulfur went on the offense. "Walter! Razor leaf!" Sulfur said. Walter began to unleash his signature flurry of sharp leaves towards the Shinx.

"Ha, I knew I can break you! Ray jump through the leaves and use bite!" Topaz called out. Ray as told and ran towards the flying leaves. With enough speed, Ray jumped through the circular opening and landed on top of Walter. Upon landing, Ray opened his mouth and sank his teeth into Walter's head.

"Damn, Walter tackle!" Walter began charging towards a nearby tree before suddenly stopping sending Ray flying into the hard wood surface.

"Well, looks like you're learning. Ray, tackle towards that tree!" Ray shook off the impact and began charging past Walter. "Now up and bite!" Ray used his momentum and ran up the tree flipped back down towards Walter with baring teeth. Once again landing on top of Walter, Ray took a bite of the Turtwig's head.

As Walter began thrashing about to get rid of the Shinx on his head, both Pokémon became engulfed in a bright white light.

"Oh my dear Arceus...this can't be happening." Topaz whispered to herself in disbelief.

"It's about time." Sulfur said to himself.

Once the bright light cleared the bodies of a Grotle and Luxio replaced the former Turtwig and Shinx. Acting quickly, Sulfur pulled out his pokedex and scanned the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Walter use curse!" command Sulfur. Walter began building up energy within himself to feel less pain and hit harder, though it became harder for him to move."Now razor leaf!" With that last command, Walter's two back bushes sent waves of leaves sweeping Ray of his back.

"Ok! We're done! You win, good sir!" Topaz yelled out while throwing up her arms. She walked over to her new Luxio and began to pet his fur. "Well, there's a bit more static now." Topaz noticed. "Nice going there, Goldie. You're finally learning to use the environment in your battle, but enough with razor leaf attack. It's becoming too predictable and it will lose you points." Topaz said as turned to face Sulfur.

"I have got little other options I'm afraid." Sulfur said walking over to his new Grotle.

"Well, instead of using razor leaf as an attack, you can use the speed from it to make withdraw an attack. Like a cheap version of spin dash." Topaz explained. "Not every attack is meant to only be an attack, if that is understandable."

"Walter forgot to use withdraw." Sulfur replied.

"Well, nevermind then." Topaz continued to pet Ray. After one final pet, Topaz stood up and stretched out her arms. "Well, we had fun so let's keep...AHH!" Topaz was interrupted mid sentence by a Murkrow who was trying to steal her bracelet. "You little jerk! Get off!" Topaz yelled while trying desperately not to lose her arm.

"I know that Murkrow!" Sulfur yelled as Ren growled at the sight of it.

"Damn it! Ray, bite!" Topaz yelled out. Ray ran towards his trainer and jumped to try and attack the wild bird. However, the Murkrow moved just in time to avoid Ray and Ray landed instead on Topaz.

"Nononononono, NO!" Topaz and Ray fell backwards and Topaz lost not only her bracelet but her glove as well. The Murkrow seemed to snicker and flew away with his new shiny item. Topaz hid her naked arm and with the other, searched desperately tried to find her jacket in her bag. "I can't believe that ass of a Murkrow stole my glove!" Topaz muttered to herself.

"That stupid bird is gonna get it, and it looks like that dumb bird got you." Sulfur said watching Topaz hold her arm while she rummage through her belongings.

"No, it's fine." Topaz lied as she continued to make a mess of her bag.

"Yeah right, fine. Let me look at that" Sulfur said. Sulfur grabbed Topaz's arm and forcefully pulled it to look it over.

"Oh, hello what's this?" Sulfur said looking over her arm.

"No, don't look at it!" Topaz cried out desperately. On her forearm was a clear, curved scar which was not made by the recent Murkrow attack.

"There is no use fighting it now. Why do you have this scar?" Sulfur said still gripping Topaz's arm, Ren also came in for a closer look.

"Why does that matter?! I've had them since I was five! Who cares?!" Topaz said while her face began to turn red.

"I assure you I only asked out of curiosity." Sulfur said. "Anyways I am assuming that this is the reason you wore those gloves now."

"That's...part of the reason." Topaz replied back, looking away.

"Well what's the rest?" Sulfur asked letting go of her arm.

"When I was younger, I was teased really bad for my scars. So I wore gloves, but even then I was still teased." Topaz finally admitted. She removed her other glove to reveal another scar. "It's the real reason I didn't want to travel with anyone. I didn't want you to know."

"I see, well you don't have to worry about being teased by me. In fact, I am more interested to know what made such a scar." Sulfur said looking at the odd shape of the scars.

"A Seviper." Topaz said plainly.

"That sounds traumatic." Sulfur replied concerned.

"It was but that's another story. We better go after that dumb Murkrow. I still want my stuff back." Topaz said. She put on her glove once more and stood up. "It headed towards the forest."

Sulfur and Topaz made their way into the foliage in search of the thieving Murkrow.

After a couple of hours or so, the small group made it to the entrance of a very thick forest. Topaz stared into the darkest ahead made by the thick trees above.

"Hm, I may have just realized something." Topaz said aloud.

"What's that?" Sulfur replied.

"Well, this is the entrance to the infamous Eterna Forest, known for getting many travelers lost if they're not careful. We can easily get through it, but who says we won't get lost trying to find a single Murkrow?" Topaz finished.

"Statistically speaking, we could die in there." Sulfur said plainly.

"Wow, you sure know how to lighten up the mood. I'm also slightly offended that you doubt my navigational skills. Then again, I guess from one point of view, a glove isn't really all that worth dying for." Topaz finally decided.

"I am glad you see it that way, we can purchase a new pair once we get to the next town."

Before the two trainers could act, though, Ren leapt off of Sulfur's head and began frantically running into the forest.

"Ren? Where are you going?" Sulfur yelled out, following the Ralts into the forest.

"Damn it, Ren! There's a reason people get lost in here!" Topaz shouted as she ran after the two.

It didn't take long for Sulfur to catch up to his Ralts, but long enough to where they deviated from the path. Trees were around every turn no matter what detection they faced. Truly, the trainers were lost. Running over and picking up his Ralts, Sulfur held her up to his face.

"What in Arceus' name do you think you are doing?" Sulfur asked.

Ren responded with a cry and began flapping her arms.

"You are a psychic type, what would you have done to it if you found it anyways?" Sulfur continued.

Ren again gave her signature bell cry giving an annoyed look.

"You should really think things through first, Ren." Sulfur finished.

Topaz caught up once Sulfur captured Ren and heard what he said.

"Can she even find Murkrow? I mean, sure it's half flying but it's also half dark." Topaz asked.

"She is unable to track dark types. It's what makes them dangerous to psychic types." Sulfur responded. "We should worry more about getting out of here first." Sulfur said placing Ren back on his head.

"Right, that makes sense." Topaz replied. She looked up at the trees. "We could try, but...we would have to wait until nightfall." Topaz thought out loud. "Hey, what time does your pokétch have?" Topaz asked.

"Eleven forty seven." said Sulfur. Topaz took a moment to think.

"Hm, too long of a wait. Maybe I can see which direction the sun is setting." Topaz walked over a tree and began to climb it. She tried to reach for the highest branch and see if she could part it. With one strong push, she was able to get a small view of the sky. After staring at the sky for a bit, Topaz finally figured out which direction to go.

"Alright, east is that way! That's where we wanna go for Eterna City!" Topaz yelled out down to Sulfur as she pointed in one direction.

"It seems having you as a traveling partner was a smart choice. Where did you learn to navigate?" Sulfur asked impressed. Topaz carefully slid down the tree with her back turned to Sulfur.

"Um, well, when you have only one friend and all the time in the world, you either learn to be a coordinator with your mother or do ranger training with your father." Topaz explained. She turned around and readjusted her bag.

"Fascinating. Well, we might as well start moving, I do not want to be around here any longer than I have to be. Many wild Pokémon inhabit the deep parts of the forest." Sulfur said eager to start moving again.

"Heh, you don't know the half of it, but alright. Let's go." Topaz said. She began towards the direction she pointed and held her naked arm close to her body.

Both trainers again made their way through the forest, this time with a bit more difficulty. The pace was slow and hard and much more difficult than the cleared path at the start.

"So, you gonna stick to contests or juggle it with gym battles?" Topaz asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure. I thought that if I did battles, I'd get to see more Pokémon but since I found out that Sinnoh has contests, I might lean more on that." Sulfur said while pulling out his pokédex. "Besides, I still have this to fill up."

"Well, if you remember next time to scan them. That was tragic." Topaz teased. "But, just needed to know so that I can have more time to sew an outfit and help you with your combos. Also, Hearthome City is known as the city of contests for its double performance rule." Topaz explained.

"You want to make another outfit?" Sulfur asked puzzled.

"Well, it keeps me busy while I'm waiting for you to perform. So, yea, I don't mind making another. As long as you're okay with it, that is." Topaz said.

"Well if you want to, I will not try and stop you, it should add some interest to my performance." Sulfur said. "But I only have two pokemon, what would you model it after?"

"Ren. I already did Walter so she's the only one left. Unless you catch another Pokémon from here to your next contest." Topaz answered.

"I have yet to find any Pokémon interesting as of yet. So far I would prefer to avoid most of them." Sulfur said toying with his pokédex.

"You can't just survive on two Pokémon forever. Maybe we can find a nice one for you. Maybe a nice water type." Topaz said.

"Possibly. Hey, where do you know Cyan from? You do have a history seeing how you reacted back in Floaroma." Sulfur asked.

"He was a neighborhood kid who went to my class back in kindergarten. We didn't really talk to each other until after I got my scars. He's been my only friend. I'd go as far to say that he's my best friend." Topaz answered with fondness in her voice.

"Ah I see, am I to assume you are romantically interested in Cyan." Sulfur said raising his eyebrow.

"No! And if I did, that stays between us, Goldie!" Topaz yelled back as she started to blush. "But I'm serious, other than Cyan, I don't have any other friends." Topaz said.

"Maybe that will change, we are traveling the entire region, we are bound to meet new people." Sulfur said attempting to console Topaz.

"If I couldn't make friends when I was five, I don't think I can make new ones now. I mean, I didn't even treat you right when we first met." Topaz recalled.

"You still don't." Sulfur replied.

"And that's all the proof needed." Topaz concluded.

"Well whatever the case may be, this is only the beginning." Sulfur commented. "There are many experiences yet to be had, and many new people to meet, some to even befriend."

"Sometimes when you talk, I feel like you're too old to be a kid. Like seriously, where do you get this stuff you're saying?" Topaz said.

"Books." Sulfur responded plainly.

"Right. What was I even expecting?" Topaz asked aloud. "Hey, we found the path again. That was easier than I thought." Topaz remarked.

Leaving the dense foliage, the two trainers came across the main dirt path. With little hesitation, they began on the path again, attempting to make up for lost time. The trainers traveled in silence for awhile but it was quickly becoming apparent that they were not going to make it through before sunset.

"Let's set up camp before it gets too dark." Sulfur suggested.

"Right. We better start a fire first." Topaz took out Achi's pokeball and tossed it. "I'll go get the wood." Topaz said as she set down her bag. She walked past a few bushes with Achi close behind.

"Looks like it's you and me then." Sulfur said picking up his Ralts and setting her on the ground. Unpacking his tent, he began the process that he had repeated since starting this journey. Sulfur found the nearest tree and set a rope to hang his tent from. Ren began collecting rocks to arrange in a circle for a fire pit.

After a short while, Ren and Sulfur sat next to the circle of stones arranged by Ren.

"That was really stupid you know."

Ren gave a low growl, but was quickly silenced when Sulfur picked her up and sat her on his lap.

"Look, I know it's tough running into dark types again, but trust me, if you keep training, we'll be able to fight back against them." Sulfur said cradling the now tired Ralts.

Topaz and Achi returned back to the small campsite, both arms full of wood. Topaz walked over to the small circle of rocks and started to place the wood in the center.

"Hopefully, this will last us all night and into the early morning. The trees are pretty dense to tell the difference in the day. Thanks for the little circle." Topaz said quietly as she noticed Ren dosing off. "Achi, light it up, buddy." Achi got closer to the wood and spit out a couple of embers to start up the fire. Topaz walked back towards her bag and pulled out her sleeping bag.

"Looks as if we should rest as well." said Sulfur watching Topaz setting down her sleeping bag. Topaz nodded and pulled off her boots before stuffing herself in the sleeping bag.

"Good night." Topaz said. She turned over to her side, facing away from Sulfur. Achi went over and fell asleep next to his trainer.

The campsite fell silent as everyone except Sulfur slowly drifted off to sleep. The only noise came from the crackling of the camp fire and the wind slowly moving through the leaves of the forest. The combination of the fire and trees made an almost hypnotic sound, as if nature was singing a lullaby. Slowly, Sulfur began to succumb to its effects. Sulfur laid on his side closing his eyelids one final time before everything went dark.

For a few minutes, nothing moved as the two trainers and their Pokémon slept peacefully. Finally, a rustling through the trees broke the silence as a small black flying type, wearing a green scarf, landed on the branch of a nearby tree. The Pokémon began to scan over the campsite until finally laying its eyes on the bags Topaz had laying around.

The flying type flew down as quietly as it could and began to rummage around Topaz's belongings. Slowly another figure also appeared from the shadows, a small grayish-blue and pink ghost type.

As the two Pokémon began to help themselves to the Pokémon food in Topaz's bag, Ren began to stir in her sleep.

Ren shuffled out of Sulfur's arms and made her way to Sulfur's bags to raid his supply of kelpsy berries. Ren was quickly shook out of her groggy state as soon as she saw the two Pokémon making a mess of Topaz's bags.

"*Hey! What do you think you're doing?*" Ren called out to the scavengers.

"*Oh, well look who we have here. Listen Sugar, why don't you just head on back to bed, alright?*" The Murkrow mocked.

"*Clyde! Look! This food is even better!*" The blue ghost type said excitedly as she hovered over to the Murkrow with a few cans following her. She quickly took noticed of Ren and giggled. "*Oh, Clyde, you didn't wake up this little child, did you?*"

"*Relax, Bonnie, I'll take care of this.*" Murkrow said. "*Look, me and the lady are gonna take our loot and we'll be on our way, alright?*"

"*What makes you think I won't stop you?*" Ren called out angrily.

"*You? You have no way of attacking me sweetheart, or did you forget?*" Bonnie giggled at Clyde's comment.

"*Oh, little Sweet Pea, there's nothing you can do to stop us. Either way you look at it, it's the two of us against little ol' you! You can't win.*" Bonnie gave an eerie smile.

Ren knew full well she couldn't harm them. Ren could beat Bonnie but it would only lead to a loss against Clyde. She needed help and quick. Ren began using her growl attack to attempt to gain the attention of her sleeping companions.

"*Was that supposed to scare me?*" Clyde said chuckling.

Again, Ren let out a louder growl, getting slightly more frustrated.

"*We really gonna do this? This ain't worth our time. Let's go, Bonnie.*" Clyde said prepping himself for flight.

That was the last straw for Ren, as she gave one last rage fueled cry. With all she could muster, she let out a cry loud enough to not only wake up the camp, but heavily damage the Murkrow in the process.

"*Clyde!*" Bonnie floated over Clyde in worry.

"Wha-? What's was that?" Sulfur said jolting up from his sleep.

"Damn it, Ren. Just because you're cranky doesn't mean…" Topaz began to complain until Achi pointed out that her bags were a mess. "What the...my bags!" Topaz looked over to where Ren stood, yelling at two Pokémon. Topaz recognized the Murkrow as the bracelet shone with the light of the campfire. "YOU!" Topaz grabbed one of her boots and threw it at the Murkrow.

Ren caught sight of the flying shoe and quickly dodged it. The Murkrow also took notice of the boot and quickly left Misdreavus to take the hit straight in the face.

"*That HURT, CLYDE!*" Bonnie yelled out at her partner.

"*You honestly didn't think I was gonna take that, did you?!*"

"*That's IT! I'm through being nice!*" Bonnie faced Topaz and Achi and launched a dark purple orb at them with full force. Topaz and Achi dodged the attack before it destroyed her sleeping bag.

"Damn it! Achi! Ember!" Achi was quick with his attack and fired several embers at Misdreavus.

Misdreavus winced as the small intense flames peppered her. Sulfur quickly jumped up from where he laid and took his place behind Ren.

"Looks like a double battle." Sulfur called out to Topaz.

"Well, at the end of this, I better get my glove back! Ember, let's go!" Achi wasted no time in his attack. Misdreavus learned from the first time and dodged the attack. She reappeared and threw another shadow ball in Achi's direction.

"Ren! Psychic on the Misdreavus!" Sulfur commanded, however instead, Ren let out another cry towards the Murkrow causing it to cry out in pain. Sulfur, surprised, pulled out his pokédex and aimed it at his Ralts. "Ren! You learned Disarming voice!"

The celebrations were cut short however as the now enraged Murkrow flew at Sulfur and Ren at blinding speed. Ren and Sulfur barely had time to jump out of the way. As the Murkrow passed by it made a U-turn and charged for another assault.

"Counter with ember, Achi! We can't let that pursuit hit Ren!" Topaz yelled out. As Achi was preparing to attack Murkrow, Misdreavus was a step ahead and seemed to glare and scream at Achi. Achi fell over, unable to use his attack. "That's Spite." Topaz gasped quietly.

Murkrow, left unhindered, rammed right into Ren sending her flying backwards.

"C'mon, Achi! Get up! Ember one last time!" Achi struggled a bit to get up but was able to launch one final ember attack. With this attack landing Misdreavus, the small ghost Pokémon was left with a burn. Topaz quickly took out a pokéball and tossed it towards the Misdreavus. Once captured, Topaz pulled out Ray's pokéball.

"Need help?" Topaz called out to Sulfur.

"Give me a second!" Sulfur yelled back in response.

Ren got back on her feet but had no time to rest as the Murkrow prepared a peck attack. With all the force it could muster, the Murkrow charged once more at Ren.

"Now! Teleport!" With Sulfur's quick command, Ren disappeared from the Murkrow's line of flight. Not giving it time to recover, Sulf launched one last attack.

"Disarming voice!"

Ren let out one last cry as the Murkrow tried to recover. This time, however, the Murkrow could not take the pain and began its hard descend towards the ground.

"Alright, now for the capture!" Sulfur yelled.

Ren watched in horror as an empty pokéball traveled from Sulfur's hands towards the falling dark type. The pokéball struck the Murkrow mid flight and absorbed it into itself before landing flat on the ground. After three short shakes, the battle was over.

"Well, way to go." Topaz said. She picked up the Misdreavus' pokéball and recalled Achi into his. "Nice going with that fairy move." Topaz continued.

"I only wish she didn't learn it in such a disruptive way." Sulfur replied clearly tired.

As Sulfur attempted to organize what just happened in his head, a shining light caught his gaze. Ren had begun evolving. After a few seconds, the small Ralts had been replaced with a Kirlia who still held an disapproving gaze towards her trainer.

"And you evolved...That is it! I'm too tired! I'll sort this out tomorrow!" Sulfur yelled out throwing himself into his tent.

"Well, looks like you sure know how to break little Goldie Locks, don't you, Ren?" Topaz asked as she started to laugh.

Ren puffed her cheeks annoyed but quickly left to console her now passed out trainer.

"I might as well get more firewood. I'm not sleeping any time soon." Topaz chuckled to herself as she made an effort to keep an eye on the camp.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Messenger Pidove**

Topaz looked up at the thick trees and noticed some bit of light shining through the small gaps. She tossed out Rose's pokéball and the small grass type appeared.

"Morning, sunshine. Mind using water sport to put out the fire? I'm too lazy to find a river." Topaz asked. Rose nodded in agreement and walked over to the dying fire. Rose opened her small bud and showered the fire with some water. Once the fire was put out, Topaz got up and kicked over some dirt on the wet coals for good measure. "Thanks, Rose." Topaz said, petting the Budew with gratitude.

Inside Sulfur's tent, Ren was tapping her trainer's face repeatedly with both hands in an attempt to wake him from his sleep.

"Stop it, Ren. I didn't get enough sleep last night from the mess of a battle." Sulfur said turning over, facing away from Ren.

"Would you get up and feed me, you idiot?! I can't read the stupid squiggles that the stupid human wrote on the stupid cans!" Ren yelled into Sulfur's head.

Hearing the voice yelling into his head, Sulfur jumped out of his tent, looking confused, his newly evolved Kirlia following him outside.

Topaz stared at Sulfur with a confused look.

"Yo, Goldie. I would ask where the fire's at, but Rose just kinda put it out right now." Topaz said jokingly.

"If someone didn't just yell at me, I would have groaned at your terrible joke." Sulfur said, dusting himself off. Topaz shrugged.

"Honestly, I thought that was one of my better jokes. Besides your imaginary friend problem, bring out that dumb Murkrow. I want my damn glove back that he's wearing as a stupid scarf. I have more important problems." Topaz said. She picked up the remains of her tattered sleeping bag and rolled it up in her bag.

"I swear I heard something." Sulfur said, tossing the recently captured Murkrow out of its ball.

"Gimme that, you stupid bird." Topaz growled as she snatched back her glove and bracelet from the disapproving Murkrow. "Well, if it's a voice inside your head, I'm sure it'll come back." Topaz replied back as she pulled the glove back on. "Oh, it feels good to be clothed again. As for you, you little brat, better not steal my stuff again. Otherwise, I'm gonna have you electrocuted from here to the reverse world, got it?!" Topaz said angrily.

The Murkrow gave Topaz a dirty look before flying off and landing on Sulfur's head, which made Ren a bit jealous.

"I guess we should come up with a name for you shouldn't we?" Sulfur said looking up at the dark type. It gave an unintelligible squack. "I have no idea what you just said." Sulfur said.

"He said his name's Clyde." The voice in Sulfur's head said.

"Who keeps talking to me?!" Sulfur said getting frustrated.

"Probably the little ballerina at your feet. She's the only one capable of telepathy, being that she is a psychic type. I should've remembered that." Topaz answered. Topaz had watched Ren as she was clearly pouting at the fact that someone had stolen her place.

Sulfur looked down at Ren, confusion spread across both of their faces. They stayed like this for awhile, Sulfur clearly lacking the words to speak. Finally however, he managed to recite some information.

"Some psychic types have demonstrated the ability to converse with humans. However well documented that ability may be, occurrences of it actually happening are rare." Sulfur managed to spit out.

"Yeah, yeah, that's true and all but it's more common with the Ralts line as they are more prone to deeply connect emotionally with their trainer. I thought you knew this?" Topaz continued, clearly unaffected by the sudden surprise.

"I did...I'm just not sure how to feel about this." Sulfur said.

Ren, clearly also confused, decided to test out her new ability.

"Food?" Ren asked Sulfur.

"It always has to come back to that, doesn't it?" Sulfur asked, clearly annoyed by his Kirlia's lack of focus.

"Well, whatever the case, hurry up and get ready. Don't want to be stuck here again for another night. I kinda want to get a bed by the end of the day." Topaz walked back to her bag and pulled out a can of food. "At least those little punks didn't all of the food. Here you go, Rose." Topaz took a handful of food from the can and started to hand feed the Budew.

"Well then," Sulfur began attempting to gather his bearings. "Breakfast?"

"Of course breakfast! Just because I can speak to you doesn't mean we can skip food time." Ren retorted.

"Right, of course." Sulfur said pulling out his Pokémon food.

After a short breakfast, the two trainers packed up what they had, or what was left in Topaz's case, and began on the route again.

"So, what did Ren want? She seemed more annoyed than usual." Topaz asked, breaking the silence of the eerie forest.

"She wanted food." Sulfur said with a sigh. "And why are you calm about this?" Topaz seemed a bit surprised by the question.

"Must I continually remind you that I raised a Ralts since its hatching? Though I'm just surprised it took Ren so long to start using it on you. She must have been really angry that you didn't feed her." Topaz pointed out.

"She tends gets irritated when she isn't fed on time, though I'm not sure that is the only reason." Sulfur replied.

"I was gonna have to learn if you kept that up, you were gonna starve me to death!" Ren spoke at Sulfur.

"We get it. You're a cranky baby. Why didn't you just feed yourself? I've seen you do stuff on your own." Topaz asked, looking over to Ren.

"I swear I'm gonna beat her one of these days." Ren thought out loud.

Sulfur laughed. "That is illegal and you know it, Ren."

"I don't even want to know what she said that time. And control your temper, Ren. Your cries are annoying on their own and I don't need you blasting my brain with your screams." Topaz said.

Before the argument could escalate further, Sulfur brought up a different topic.

"Shouldn't you let out that Misdreavus?" Sulfur asked, looking at his new Murkrow fly above them silently.

"The better question is why is that dumb Murkrow still out his pokéball? Both those punks did me wrong. Murkrow stole my glove, Misdreavus destroyed my sleeping bag, and both equally raided my bag! They ate a good portion of Ray's and Rose's food. In my opinion, they should stay inside their pokéballs as punishment." Topaz said, clearly irritated.

"Oh, it's not like it's their fault. They are wild Pokémon, they do what they must to survive." Sulfur explained.

"Could've survived without taking my damn kelpsy berry." Ren said to herself.

"Stealing isn't surviving. It's just being a thief. Pokémon have survived years in the wild without stealing from humans. Murkrow and Misdreavus are known for being thieves and mischievous. You might be okay with it but they crossed the line with my glove and food that belong to other Pokémon. Not to mention all the work I put into making that food." Topaz continued to complain.

"Fine then." Sulfur said facing Topaz. "Give me your Misdreavus then." Topaz gave Sulfur an angry look.

"Just because I'm angry doesn't mean I'm going to get rid of them. I'm punishing them because it's wrong to steal and I don't want someone else to suffer through their thievery. If I didn't want them, I would have released them by now." Topaz said sternly.

"Well I guess I can't change that." Sulfur said defeated.

The Murkrow flew down and landed onto Sulfur's shoulder before giving a loud squawk towards Topaz. Ren explained to Sulfur what the Murkrow had just said.

"Clyde wants to know when you will release his partner." Sulfur explained. Topaz glared at the Murkrow.

"None of your damn business, punk. So don't worry about it. All you need to care about is whether or not I still want to electrocute you."

With that comment, Murkrow flew off of Sulfur's shoulders and back into the skies.

"Yeah, that's right. Fly away, you jerk." Topaz mumbled. "We should reach Eterna City soon at this rate. After we heal our Pokémon, I'll let Misdreavus have some air. Does Ren know Misdreavus' name? Seeing that Murkrow is named Clyde." Topaz asked.

"I believe she mentioned it earlier." Sulfur said trying to remember. "Bonnie? Was it?" Sulfur looked down to Ren questioningly. Ren nodded in conformation.

"Why in the world would a Misdreavus go by the name Bonnie? That's ridiculous." Topaz said with disbelief.

"Don't ask me, I didn't come up with the name." replied Sulfur.

"In the end, I guess it's fitting. Dumb little punks." Topaz mumbled. She remained silent after that last comment, focusing her attention on making it out of the forest.

After an hour of walking, the path finally began to open out, allowing much more light to seep through the forest exit. Once they had crossed a small bridge over a large pond, the group made it to Eterna City.

"This place is rather nature friendly, there's trees everywhere." Sulfur stated.

"Well, it's no Fortree City but it is home to the grass type gym. Not to mention it's literally a two minute walk from the forest. So yeah, they do appreciate nature here." Topaz said as she headed for the Pokémon Center.

"Well after this mess, I can not wait to have a bed again." Sulfur said, following close behind with his Kirlia and Murkrow.

Arriving at the Pokémon Center, both trainers wasted no time in asking for rooms to stay in.

"May I have your names please?" The Nurse replied.

"I'm Sulfur and this is Rocky." answered Sulfur.

"Ha ha! You think you're really funny don't you, Goldie? For the record, my joke this morning was a lot funnier than this one you're making." Topaz looked back at Nurse Joy with seriousness. "My name is actually Topaz."

"Oh my. Well, this is a little hard to say." Nurse Joy replied with a nervous look on her face. "If you are indeed Topaz, then you have a call that's been waiting for you since yesterday in the evening. They decided to call again this morning since you never made it last night. They were...quite impatient to say the least. They are waiting in booth eight if you would like to take the call now. I recommend that you do so." Nurse Joy said, giving a nervous smile.

"Okay. Thank you." Topaz said quietly. She had started to blush and could feel her ears burning. She already knew who was calling her and it made her scared to answer. Rose followed close by, feeling the fear her trainer was emitting.

Once reaching the correct booth, Topaz took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Hello?" Topaz waited for an answer.

"Oh, my dear little gem! You finally answered. I'm so

glad you made it safely to Eterna City. How ar-?"

"DID SHE FINALLY PICK UP?!" A deep, loud voice yelled in the background. Topaz winced as she recognized the stern voice. Topaz's mother turned her head in the direction of the voice.

"Yes, my love, she did. But please keep your voice down. Cecilia is sl-."

"GIVE ME THE PHONE! I WANT TO TALK TO HER!" The voice yelled out once more, this time much closer. Topaz felt her face starting to burn. Rose hid behind Topaz's leg, now feeling scared herself. Topaz's mother smiled nervously and left the screen. A second later, a well built man in a sort of ranger uniform appeared on the screen and was clearly enraged.

"Hi, Daddy." Topaz said nervously. She was seconds away from running out of the building.

"DON'T YOU DARE 'HI, DADDY' ME! HOW DARE YOU GO FOR 12 DAYS WITHOUT CALLING YOUR MOTHER! THAT'S NEARLY TWO WEEKS! DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW WORRIED SHE'S BEEN FOR YOU?!" Topaz's father yelled out.

"Well, I haven't been all too worried." Topaz heard her mother's soft voice in the background.

"AND ANOTHER THING! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE?! WHERE DID YOU GET SUCH A RIDICULOUS IDEA LIKE THAT IN YOUR HEAD?! I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT WE NEVER RAISED YOU TO THINK IN THAT MANNER! THE NEXT TIME I HEAR THAT YOU SAY THAT TO YOUR MOTHER, I'M COMING HOME AND I'M GOING TO THROW YOU IN THE WORST TRAINING SESSION OF YOUR LIFE, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Topaz's father asked.

*Honestly, I think the whole Center can.* Topaz thought to herself. "Yes, father. I understand." Topaz replied sheepishly. Topaz's father took a deep breath, satisfied with his lecture.

"Good. Now, how are you? Was your travel through the forest safe?" Topaz's father asked more calmly.

"Yes, sir. We made it out fine. We did get lost a bit but I found a way back towards the main path. Then last night, a Murkrow and a Misdreavus raided our food supply and my sleeping bag was destroyed." Topaz replied. Her mother reappeared on the screen, with worry spread across her face.

"Are you alright, Topaz? You weren't in it, were you?" Topaz's mother asked.

"No, Mother. I managed to dodge the attack. We're both alright." Topaz answered.

"Both? Are you traveling with someone, my gem?"

"Yes. His name is Sulfur. He's the new neighbor's child you told me about." Topaz said, turning red with embarrassment. Topaz's mother smiled.

"Oh, that's wonderful, my gem! I knew you two would get along! His mother is such a delight! She just loves contests! She was here the other day for the Floaroma Contest and we saw the wonderful outfit he was wearing. I must say, you did an absolute job on his outfit. It's just a shame he lost. His Ralts and Turtwig were adorable and well trained." Topaz's mother said happily. Her father was slightly amused.

"Are you two getting along? No trouble?" Topaz's father asked, dropping his eyes to look at Topaz's gloves.

"For the most part, yes, we are getting along. There hasn't been much trouble on either side." Topaz replied, rubbing her arms. Her father nodded.

"Good. Don't start anything with Sulfur, do you understand?" Topaz's father asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you need anything? Money, clothes, food?" Topaz's father asked with deep concern.

"Perhaps a bit more money would be good. I need a new sleeping bag and with the Murkrow and Misdreavus we captured, we need to buy more food and replace the food they ate." Topaz said.

"Alright, then. I'll send the money with Ryder. Try to be at the Center two hours from now. Until then, relax and look after your Pokémon and Sulfur. Call back once Ryder gets there, understand?"

"Yes, sir." Topaz replied to her father.

"Goodbye, Topaz."

"See you in a bit, my gem!"

"Goodbye." Topaz replied. The screen went dark as the call ended. Topaz let out a sigh and dropped her head on the counter with a loud thud. "Why?" Topaz cried softly to herself. Rose began rubbing her bud against Topaz's leg, trying to comfort her trainer.

"Papa called?" Sulfur asked with a smile on his face while Ren was suppressing a chuckle from behind him. Rose gave a disapproving look towards Ren.

"So I was right. The entire Center did hear me getting burned by my dad." Topaz managed to muffle out.

"It would seem so." Sulfur replied as he looked over the Pokémon Center, seeing many people looking over to Topaz. Small whimpers were heard from Topaz.

"I...do you want to do something? My dad is having some money delivered and we have two hours to waste." Topaz asked quietly.

"No, thanks." replied Sulfur "I need to call my mother, she'd never forgive me if I didn't show her Ren's new look."

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go sulk somewhere else then." With that, Topaz picked up Rose and walked over to the front counter. After leaving, her weak Pokémon with Nurse Joy, Topaz went outside.

Sulfur sat down on one of the empty video phone booths and dialed his home phone number. After a few short rings, Sulfur was surprised to see the face of an Arcanine answer the call.

"Mars? Where's my mother?" Sulfur asked.

"Mars, who's on the phone?" A woman's voice called in the background before coming into view of the camera. "Oh, Sulfur, it's you! How have you been?"

"I have been alright. The better question is, when did Mars learn to pick up the phone?" Sulfur asked.

"Oh, he's been doing that for awhile now. It's helpful, but sometimes it's just inconvenient. Hey, where's Ren? She's not on your head like usual." Sulfur's mother responded.

"That is actually why I called. Ren is right here." Sulfur said picking up his Kirlia and sitting her on his lap. "Mother, may I introduce you to Ren?"

Sulfur's mother's eyes widened with excitement as soon as the Kirlia went on camera.

"Oh my Arceus, she is so cute!" Sulfur's mother yelled out almost as loud as Topaz's father. Ren began to blush, Sulfur's mother always seemed to give the most embarrassing compliments.

"When did she evolve?! You have to tell me everything!"

"She evolved yesterday after a battle against some wild Pokémon and now she speaks to me through telepathy." Sulfur said to his eager mother.

"That's amazing! Can she say something to me?" Sulfur's mother asked.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you have to be in the area for that to happen." Sulfur replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh well, that's too bad. Hopefully she and I can talk when you come visit! Anyways, I have to go. I'm having tea with the neighbors. Call me if you need anything." Sulfur's mom finished.

With that, Sulfur hung up the phone and slouched in his chair. He didn't hate calling his mother, but it was always draining.

"Relax Sulfur. You look like you spoke with the president of Hoenn." Ren said smiling.

"I might as well have. Anyways, what do you wanna do now?" Sulfur asked.

"I want kelpsy candy and a bed." Ren replied simply.

"Of course you do." Sulfur sighed.

Sulfur and Ren got up from their seat and made their way to their dorm.

Topaz walked over to the training field by the Center and sat down under a nearby tree. Topaz let out another sigh and covered her face with her arm.

"Well, I really messed that one up." Topaz said softly. She took a moment to think about her battle with Roark. "I'm always messing up." Topaz began to pet Rose who had a look of concern on her small face. Topaz took out Ray's pokéball and tossed it. "At least I have Sulfur telling me to do the right things. You all deserve some air now and then." Ray shook his body and curled up next to his trainer.

Topaz took off her bag and pulled out her notebook. She flipped through the pages until she found the one that listed every Pokémon's preferred flavor.

"Okay then. Bonnie and Clyde both liked your guys' food meaning they prefer spicy flavors or maybe sour. But since I'm still mad, I'm not going to make them special food until later." Topaz wrote a few notes and closed her notebook. She pulled out her sketchpad and placed the notebook back in her bag. Once she had a blank page, Topaz doodled a quick picture of Murkrow.

"Even though I'm really mad at that stupid bird, it doesn't mean he's a ugly looking bird. Hm, do you think Sulfur would look good in a hat?" Topaz asked, looking over to Rose. Rose looked away from her trainer, her face clearly showing that she was trying to imagine Sulfur in a hat. The image must have been horrible as Rose shook her body disapprovingly.

"Right. Maybe we should address that matter last." Topaz giggled softly and began sketching an outfit.

Back in the Pokémon Center, Sulfur laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. He had been trying to figure out what he preferred doing, whether that meant competing in contest or testing his strength in battles. He had yet to decide. He stared at his pokéballs, thinking about what his Pokémon would prefer. So far from what he's seen, they had both fought hard and performed at their bests. Sulfur looked over to his sleeping Kirlia, remembering the feelings of excitement he felt during the contest performance. Contests were difficult but never before had Sulfur felt the way he did while on stage.

"Gyms are limited with the Pokémon they use. With contests, there are no such restrictions. This could lead to even more pokédex entries." Sulfur reasoned with himself. "I have decided to be a a coordinator!" Sulfur shouted.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." Ren said tiredly while reaching over and slapping Sulfur in the leg before turning back over to sleep.

With the excitement sucked right out of Sulfur, he laid back down on his bed and went to sleep.

"Okay. What about this one?" Topaz asked. She faced the sketch towards Rose. Rose shook her body disapprovingly once more more. "Ugh! This is the third one already. How can a simple looking bird be so difficult to use?!" Topaz cried. Topaz was still outside and had spent a good while sketching outfit ideas for Sulfur. She was starting to get frustrated.

"Well, Sulfur did look good in a vest. Maybe I should go more for a mobster look. They are quite neatly dressed despite everything." Topaz flipped to another blank page and began sketching once more. Ray rolled over onto his back, seeming to enjoy his sunbathe nap.

"Hm. Ooh! I know exactly how to go about this!" Rose jumped at the sudden shout of excitement. She wobbled over to her trainer and climbed her way onto Topaz's lap. Rose stared at the half made sketch and gave out a happy sound.

"I'm glad it's finally up to your standards." Topaz smiled. She quickly finished up the sketch and took a good look at it.

"That took much longer than I wanted. And we still have to wait for Ryder to get here." Topaz looked down at Rose who had gotten comfortable in Topaz's lap. Ray was clearly fast asleep as well. Topaz flipped to another empty page and continued to doodle.

At some point, Topaz had dozed off along with her Pokémon. Topaz only realized she had fallen asleep when a loud bird screech made her jump, which caused Rose to fall off her lap. Looking up towards the sky, Topaz saw a Staraptor circling above the Center. Topaz stood up and smiled as she recognized the Pokémon.

"Ryder! Down here!" Topaz walked out to the battlefield and waved her arms, grabbing the attention of the Staraptor. The Staraptor made a quick descent and landed near Topaz.

"Hey, Ryder! I'm so glad to see you! Did you miss me by any chance?" Topaz asked as she began to pet Ryder's head. "Whatcha got for me, Ryder?" Topaz walked over to Ryder's side and opened the carrier bag on his back. As her father promised, Topaz found a small parcel filled with money along with a set of clean clothes.

"Heh, Mom must've packed the clothes, right?" Ryder gave a nod, confirming Topaz's question. As Topaz continued to search through the large carrier bag, she found a strange bag and a note.

"'Dear Topaz, since you're traveling with Sulfur, I thought it would be a good idea to have his mother send him some items along with yours. Be a good child and give him this bag please. Also, let him know that he is free to use Ryder to send anything he wishes back home. I hope Ryder got to you safely. Love, your Mother.'" Topaz looked over back to the bag and shrugged. "Well, looks like I have to go find Goldie. Did Dad pack your pokéball?" Topaz asked as she searched the bag once more. Her question was quickly answered as she found a small pokéball at the bottom of the bag.

"Well, no matter what, I don't know where he is and Dad will be pissed if I don't call in ten seconds." Topaz walked back to her Pokémon and picked up all her things. Topaz and the small group of Pokémon headed back for the Center and Topaz went ahead to pick up her healed Pokémon. She tossed both pokéballs and stared over to the very angry looking Misdreavus.

"Alright, Missy, let's get some things straight. One, what you did last night was wrong and don't go trying to play innocent. Two, you're only out of your pokéball because Goldie thinks you need fresh air so you better thank him later. And three, don't bother wondering where your little friend is because I don't know nor care." Bonnie glared at Topaz for a short moment and quickly turned away.

Topaz ignored her ghost type and walked back towards the video phone booths. She dialed her home number and prepared herself for any more yelling. Luckily for Topaz, her mother was the one who answered.

"Hello, my gem! I see Ryder finally got there. Did everything get there in one piece?" Topaz nodded.

"Yes, Mother. Ryder did an awesome job as always." Topaz's mother smiled.

"That's good. Did Sulfur get the things his mother sent him?"

"Um, well, his things made it in one piece, not that I really looked but the bag was fine. I just don't know where he is. I mean, we were both kind of tired this morning so he's probably sleeping and I don't know what room he's in." Topaz explained awkwardly

"Alright, well give him his things once you see him again. Don't try to be nosey." Topaz's mother said.

"I won't. Um, where's Dad?" Topaz asked. She was afraid to hear his screaming again. Topaz's mother smiled.

"Oh, I sent him out. Cecilia was sleeping earlier and had woken up, so I sent him off to the store to buy some milk." Topaz giggled. Although her mother looked frail, she was actually much more frightening than her father. Topaz knew the real reason why her father wasn't home. Topaz's mother must have gotten quite upset with her father for waking up the baby.

"Alright then. Well, tell him Ryder made it and that I'll send him back in the morning." Topaz replied.

"Of course. Well, good luck in your battle with Gardenia. Bye, my gem!"

"Bye, Mother." Topaz hung up the phone and slouched a bit in her seat. "Well, guess me and my dad both got in trouble today." Topaz chuckled to herself and went over to get herself a room.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The Grass Type Poképhile**

It was noon when Topaz and her party stood outside on the Pokémon Center battlefields. Ryder and Bonnie laid underneath the shade of a nearby tree while Ray and Achi prepared for their training. Topaz decided to let Rose watch over the training since she wouldn't be of much use.

"Alright, let's start. Achi, ember! Ray, tackle first and use charge!" Topaz called out the attacks. Ray moved first, running towards Achi. As Ray got closer and charged up his electricity, Achi spit out fiery pellets as a counter attack. Ray managed to dodge the attack and land his tackle on Achi. Topaz was displeased.

"Again! And this time, charge back at Ray, Achi!" Topaz called out. The two Pokémon repositioned themselves at attempted the same attack once more. Ray was the first to move again, and quickly started to charge his electricity. Achi also started to charge toward his opponent and fired out several more fiery specks. Topaz saw this and took the opportunity to call out once.

"Achi, jump, and fire out another ember!" Achi did as commanded but in doing so, left Ray to miss his own attack. Achi fired out another ember attack and the multiple flecks circled around his body as he began falling back down towards the ground. Eventually, Achi's body was engulfed in a fiery ball and quickly landed down onto Ray. Topaz grinned as she was getting halfway through her training.

"Yes! Flamewheel! Good work, Achi! How you holding up there, Ray?" Ray stood back up and shook his fur. He seemed alright but some static bounced around his fur. "Well, at least we're getting close."

While Topaz trained, Sulfur and Ren watched on from above, looking out through their window. Sulfur was eating a bag of chips while Ren munched on some kelpsy candies.

"What is she trying to do?" Ren asked popping another candy in her mouth.

Sulfur swallowed. "I'm assuming she's attempting to teach them new moves."

"Which ones?" Ren asked.

"I'm assuming some sort of fire type move, and for Ray, I have no clue." Sulfur responded.

"I can't wait to watch the fail!" Ren cried out.

"Again! Achi, fury swipes!" Topaz yelled. Ray again ran towards Achi and once again charged even more electricity in his body. As the electricity bounced off his fur, nothing really happened when Ray came into contact with Achi's body. Achi swipe his hand across Ray, knocking the Luxio a few feet back. Ray laid still on the ground for a few moments, a bit overwhelmed by all the trapped up electricity in his body. Topaz began to feel a bit worried for her Pokémon.

"Ray, are you alright?" Topaz walked over to the Luxio who was struggling a bit to stand up. Topaz tried to place her hand on Ray's back but was quickly shocked back by all the static on his fur.

"Damn! If we don't get this move down soon, you might explode." Topaz said as she rubbed her wrist.

"He needs some milk!" Ren cried out.

"Not yet. Ray's HP can hang on a little longer." Sulfur replied.

Topaz stood staring down at Ray and tried to think up a way to expel the electricity Ray had collected. Topaz turned to look around the battlefield and finally landed her sight on Rose. An idea popped in and Topaz motioned Ray to follow her back to one end of the field.

"Alright, this might work but you can't shake once this happens." Topaz explained to Ray. Topaz looked down to Rose. "Mind using water sport to help out here?" Rose smiled and opened her small bud. Rose showered Ray with enough water to tempt the Luxio to shake his fur.

"I said no shaking." Topaz said sternly. Ray looked up at his trainer, extremely upset by the trick placed on him.

Sulfur's eyes widened. "She's going to kill them!"

"Do you think they'll explode?" Ren asked looking up to Sulfur.

Sulfur looked down on his Kirlia with a stern look on his face.

"I was just asking." Ren said looking back to the battle, popping another candy in her mouth.

"Okay then, one last time. Ray, tackle and Achi, be ready with fury swipes!" Ray ran towards his fiery opponent while Achi stood ready with his own attack. After a few seconds, Topaz called out the attack.

"Now, charge!" Ray kept running towards Achi and began charging up electricity a final time. This time, the flying sparks of electricity bounced off Ray's fur and reacted with the water. Finally, Ray's body was able to expel all the electricity and soon became a blue, charging ball of electricity. Achi not only took physical damage from the attack, but was also slightly electrocuted by all the charged up power.

"She's insane! It actually worked!" Sulfur yelled. He lept off his bed and grabbed Ren as he ran out the door.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with my candies!" Ren cried out as she was taken out of the room.

"Yes! You finally learned Spark! Ha,ha!" Topaz cheered. Rose did a happy wobble dance as Topaz walked over to her tired Pokémon. Ray, with all the electricity gone from his body, laid exhausted on the ground.

"You okay, buddy?" Topaz asked. Ray let out a low growl in response. Topaz looked over to Achi, who was in his own laying heap. "How you, big guy? You took a lot damage." Achi sat up, clearly sore. He gave a small thumbs up nonetheless.

"Looks as if someone actually made some progress today." Sulfur called out, approaching the battlefield. Ren laid motionless under Sulfur's arm, still saddened by her lose of confectioneries.

"Oh, were you spying on me then? Well, it doesn't matter because that's two moves in one day, Goldie! Beat that!" Topaz smiled. She walked away from the battlefield and towards the tree Ryder and Bonnie were lying under. "Anyways, besides my awesome training session, Ryder came by and it looks like your mom sent you some things." Topaz said.

"Oh?" Sulfur questioned. Ren lifted her head at the news.

"Yeah, my mom left a note to tell me to give you the bag. Ryder, up." Topaz said. Ryder opened one eye and stood up at Topaz's command. He turned slightly so that Topaz could reach into his carrier bag. She pulled out the extra bag and handed it to Sulfur. "Here you go."

Taking the bag, Sulfur opened it up and began to search inside. First thing Sulfur pulled out was was a brand new red hoodie and a small marble on a tiny chain. The rest seemed to be a combination of clothing and non-perishable foods.

"Hey, what's that marble?" Topaz asked, pointing at the item that caught most of her attention.

"I'm not sure," Sulfur said, staring at the necklace, "but I'm assuming it's for Ren's contests." Sulfur placed Ren on the ground and put the necklace around her tiny neck. "This is sure to impress the judges next time!" Sulfur yelled excitedly.

"Hm, are there any others?" Topaz asked, curious to see what else was in the bag.

"Oh umm…" Fishing through the bag, Sulfur's hand landed on another sphere. Sulfur retracted his arm and pulled out a similar marble on a much larger chain. "It appears to be a low necklace" Sulfur commented.

"Well, they're definitely not evolutionary stones but I've never seen anything like them before." Topaz said. She turned over to face Ryder and began petting the large bird. "Whatever the case, my mother said you have full access to Ryder if you want to send anything back home to your mom." Topaz said.

"Alright that sounds good, but more importantly," Sulfur said pulling out his pokédex. "I have to scan Ryder."

"Of course you do." Topaz rolled her eyes teasingly.

Finishing up the scan, Sulfur looked over to Topaz's Misdreavus. "Looks like you decided to let out Bonnie after all."

"Yeah, but little Miss Lazy-No-Bones didn't want to do any training so I decided it was time Achi and Ray learned Flame Wheel and Spark, respectively." Topaz explained while folding up her arms. Bonnie opened one eye and quickly shut it when she caught sight of Topaz. Bonnie then went forth to roll over on her face, not wanting to face her trainer.

"Seeing how hostile you're being, it's no surprise." Sulfur commented.

"If a child disobeys you, do you not punish it? This is no different." Topaz said, a bit annoyed.

"Well I suppose so, although you might not want to be too strict. It may come back to bite you in the ass." Sulfur said

"Sure I guess, but I still wasn't the one stealing, now was I? Even if she doesn't want to train, Achi and Ray still had to learn new moves, especially Ray. I love him, but I can't survive a grass type gym with just Bite and Tackle, and we both remember how that Leer strategy turned out." Topaz said.

"It's your call. Anyways, there is not much else to do. I'm going to turn in." Sulfur said, picking up his new luggage and his Kirlia.

"Well, according to you, there's nothing to do but there's lot to do in Eterna City. And also, why are you the one so tired? I'm the one who stayed up all last night." Topaz retorted back. She recalled both Ray and Achi and pulled out Ryder's pokéball from her pocket. "You deserve proper rest, too."

"I am going to prepare for tomorrow. It is going to be a busy day so it is best to rest up early." Sulfur said turning to walk towards the Pokémon Center. "It is your match after all. I suggest you do the same."

"Sure, I mean it's not like I wasn't going to prepare. I'm just questioning why you're just going to sleep through the afternoon. You already spent all morning in your room." Topaz replied. She pucked up Rose and looked over at Bonnie. "You coming or not? Because I can always put you back in the ball." Bonnie began floating up and away from Topaz towards the Center. "Alright then."

Sulfur coughed. "I am just tired alright? I will see you tomorrow. I'll be in Room 17, knock before entering." With that, Sulfur quickly made his way back to the Pokémon Center. Topaz shook her head and went off to get her own room.

After receiving her room key and leaving half her Pokémon with Nurse Joy, Topaz headed up to her room for well deserved rest. Once entering the room, Bonnie floated over to the edge of the bed and buried her face into the sheets. Topaz placed Rose on the ground and threw all her bags on the floor. Topaz then threw herself onto the bed, exhausted from staying up for so long.

"I'm so tired." Topaz muttered. Topaz closed her eyes for a few moments before Rose started chirping. "Please, Rose, not now. I just got into bed." Topaz said softly. Rose, however, continued chirping despite Topaz's request. A bit annoyed, Topaz sat up at looked over to her Pokémon.

"Alright, what is it?" Rose knocked over Topaz's main bag and spilled all its contents. Growing more annoyed, Topaz tried to remain patient as Rose moved around all the items with her small feet and body. Eventually, Rose stood on top of Topaz's sketchbook and started chirping again. Questioning her Pokémon's actions, Topaz stood up and walked over to the mess Rose created.

"Why are you standing on my sketchbook?" Topaz asked. Rose started jumping on the book, clearly wanting Topaz to do something with it. Frustrated, Topaz moved Rose and picked up the sketchbook. "What do you want? It's just a book where I doodle. What's so important?" Topaz asked. She flipped through the book and took notice of the outfit she had sketched earlier.

"Oh that's right. I forgot about the outfit. I got caught up in training and Ryder that I forgot to show Sulfur this. Sorry, Rose." Topaz said, looking down at Rose who was giving a 'That's what I was trying to tell you' look. "Why don't we go show Sulfur right now. You wanna come, Bonnie?" Topaz looked over to her Misdreavus who made no effort in moving. Topaz shrugged and left the room with Rose close behind.

Topaz quickly made her way towards Sulfur's room while maintaining a slow enough pace for Rose to keep up. She gave the door a quick and light knock before barging into the room.

"Hey, I forgot about this earlier, but I wanted to show… what are you doing?" Topaz stopped halfway through the door and stared at the scene before her.

Sulfur and all his Pokémon were gathered in one area of the room. Sulfur and Ren were dressed up in pink tutus and glittery tiaras, Ren's being much more extravagant than Sulfur's. Walter stood between the two, acting much like a grassy table with a small plastic tea set scattered on his back. Clyde was also perched on one of Walter's bushes, dressed up in a black bowtie and a small, white towel hung from his tail feathers. He appeared to be the waiter but seemed greatly uninterested on waiting on the guests he was supposed to serve.

"Umm...it's exactly what it looks like." Sulfur said plainly as he took a fake sip from the teacup he was holding.

Topaz opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She tried to find the words in her head but she eventually gave up.

"I...I think the worst part...I don't even know why I came here for." Topaz finally said. Rose stood at Topaz's feet, staring at Ren's magnificent tutu.

"Jealous, I see." said Ren, also taking a fake sip.

"*Yes, because I don't have any hips to pull it off.*" Rose replied admiringly.

"You know, I…I think I hear my dad screaming again downstairs. I should... go...yeah, that's… that's the excuse I'm going with." Topaz mumbled. She closed the door slowly and went back to her room.

"Well, that was embarrassing." Sulfur said putting his cup down.

"Who cares about that? I'm still waiting on my poffins. You're a terrible waiter, Clyde!" Ren retorted.

Clyde gave an annoyed gaze before taking off towards the bags.

"Don't try anything funny! One wrong move and it's back to the pokéball for you." Ren threatened.

Clyde grabbed his pokéball and tapped the center button, returning himself back to his own ball.

"Hey, get back out here! We're not done yet!" Ren said frustrated and went to grab Clyde's pokéball in an attempt to release him.

"Who is the trainer here again?" Sulfur asked himself, taking another sip from his empty cup.

Topaz made it to her own room and shut the door behind her. She slid down the door and brought her knees close to her chest.

"I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, it's pretty hilarious to see Goldie all dressed up, ready to meet a queen or whatever. But on the other hand, I guess he must be a little embarrassed. I really should listen more." Topaz said, looking over to Rose. Rose gave her trainer a sympathetic look and would have shrugged if she had any shoulders.

"Well, either way, that's over. Can I sleep now?" Topaz asked. Rose smiled and walked over to the bed. Topaz took that as a yes and made herself comfortable on the bed with Bonnie still in the same place.

Topaz woke up early the next morning, excited for her gym battle. Rose and Bonnie were still out of their pokéballs, with Bonnie still in the same corner of the bed from the day before. Topaz, along with Rose, walked over to the bag her mother sent and looked through the clothes her mother had packed. She was happy to find a clean pair of jeans but it was only covering a dress her mother packed.

"Oh, come on, Mom. Really? Anything else would've been fine." Topaz groaned as she pulled out the sleeveless, green dress. Rose saw the dress and seemed quite pleased with the shade of green it was. "Well, this is the only other clean clothes I have so I guess this has to do." Topaz picked up the bag and went to the bathroom to change.

In Sulfur's room, Sulfur had changed into his new red hoodie, black jeans and orange shoes. He put the old clothes back into the bag that he was given yesterday. Both Ren and Sulfur walked out of their room wearing their new jewelry.

Topaz came out of the bathroom wearing the green dress and white legging her mother packed. She also had on a white cardigan very similar to her purple one, the only difference was longer sleeves. Overall, the outfit was much girlier than anything else Topaz wore.

"At least these are my more favorite bracelets." Topaz said to herself as she replaced her blue bracelets with green ones. Topaz went to put on her new boots and grabbed all her bags. Rose followed close as Topaz headed for the door.

"C'mon, Bonnie. We gotta go and I'm not leaving you here." Topaz called over her shoulder. Bonnie refused to move and growing annoyed, Topaz recalled the Misdreavus to her pokéball. With that, Topaz left her room to meet up with Sulfur.

The trainers met in the Pokémon Center lobby where Sulfur was waiting with Ren who was playing with her new necklace.

"Morning. Are you ready to start today?" Sulfur asked.

"Sure, I guess but we have to send Ryder back today. Do you have all your stuff?" Topaz asked while heading towards Nurse Joy.

"Everything is ready, are you confident you can beat this gym leader?" Sulfur questioned.

"Of course I'm going to beat Gardenia. She's a grass type gym leader and I have Achi and Bonnie who are strong against them. Plus, Ray finally learned Spark and that will be strong enough with a Charge so stop worrying. This won't be the same like Roark where I seriously had no chance." Topaz replied. Topaz took back her Pokémon from the nurse and tossed out Ryder's pokéball. "Let's just head outside to send back Ryder."

Leaving the Pokémon Center, both trainers loaded up Ryder with their old belongings. Ren pets Ryder one last time before he takes flight to leave. Sulfur and Topaz began walking through the city streets before reaching a building with the gym logo on the roof. Upon entering, they were met with the sweet and strong scent of roses. Topaz moved over to the gym's receptionist close by.

"Hello, I'd like to challenge Gardenia to a battle today. Is she available?" Topaz asked.

"She should be in the battle gardens," the receptionist said, "right through the back."

Both trainers made their way into the gym and were greeted by a small garden full of of different flora.

"Welcome to my gym, young trainers!" said an orange haired woman in the back. "Which one of you kids is here to challenge me?"

"That would be me." Topaz said confidently. Topaz took her place on the challenger's side of the battle field. Rose quickly took her place in standing next to her trainer.

"Oh my Arceus!" Gardena yelled out rushing in to hug the Budew. "You're so cute! And you have such a rare pelt too!"

"Oh great, a Poképhile." Sulfur said walking over to the benches.

"Ow!" Gardenia flinched back in pain letting go of the annoyed Budew. "You so mean!"

"I am so sorry. She doesn't like to be grabbed much." Topaz explained. Topaz gave her Pokémon a stern glare but Rose turned away, clearly not sorry for her actions. Topaz looked back at Gardenia. "May we start the battle now?" Topaz asked anxiously.

"Oh of course!" Gardenia replied running back to her side of the field. "Get ready to face the power of the grass type! Go, Cherubi! Gardenia called on her first Pokémon to take the field against Topaz.

"Ray, let's go!" Topaz tossed out the pokéball and Ray stood ready. Topaz decided to make the first attack. "Ray, charge!" Ray stood in place and began to charge up his electricity.

"Cherubi! Stop them with grass knot!" Gardenia called out. Two blades of grass came and grabbed at Ray's legs before pulling him forcefully into the ground.

"Ray, spark!" Ray jumped back up to his feet and began running towards Cherubi. Ray's body became engulfed in blue electricity and tackled down Cherubi. Cherubi backed up a bit and was then covered with electricity.

"Hold on, Cherubi! Leech seed!" Gardenia commanded. The Cherubi then managed to send a few seeds which engulfed Ray, slowly damaging him.

"Ray, use bite!" Topaz called out. Ray ran towards Cherubi and quickly sank his fangs into the small pink body. Little damage was actually done as Cherubi recovered from Ray's stolen energy.

"Alright! Growth" Gardenia responded quickly. Cherubi expanded a small bit, storing energy within itself. Gardenia then called out again. "Grass knot!" More blades of grass extended around Ray's hind legs, ripping him away and launching him back to his side of the field.

"Ray, get up and use spark!" Ray quickly got back to his feet and ran towards Cherubi in a blue ball of electricity. Ray once again slammed himself into Cherubi before taking another bite at its body.

"Fling it off of you again, Cherubi!" Gardenia cried. But Cherubi could not move. The electricity from before tightened the grass types muscles preventing it from moving.

"Ray, charge! Let's go!" Ray jumped off Cherubi and charged up his electricity. He continued to take damage from the leech seed stuck to his body. "Now, spark!" Topaz yelled. Ray charged back towards Cherubi, dealing double damage.

"Cherubi, growth! Follow it with a grass knot!" The Cherubi began to expand again before sending out more grass, tripping Ray again.

"Ray, charge and spark again!" Ray got back up and charged his electricity once more and tackled Cherubi with full force. Cherubi got knocked back and Topaz decided to call out her last attack. "Finish it with bite!" Ray jumped onto Cherubi and sank his fangs deep into Cherubi. Ray jumped off and Cherubi fell over, defeated.

"You did your best, Cherubi." Gardenia said returning her fainted Pokémon. "Alright let's see how you do against this! Go Turtwig!" Appearing out of its pokéball, the gym leader's Pokémon stood ready for battle.

"This is not good." Sulfur spoke aloud. "Ray is exhausted from its battle against Cherubi, it can not handle going toe to toe with another grass type."

Topaz recalled Ray to his pokéball.

"Well, I finally did something right. Good job, Ray." Topaz took out Bonnie's pokéball and tossed. "Bonnie, let's go!" Bonnie appeared and floated up and away from Topaz. Topaz let out a sigh and called out the first attack. "Bonnie, use shadow ball!" Bonnie looked at her trainer and refused to obey her command.

"Now, Turtwig! Set up a reflect!" Gardenia commanded. The Turtwig gathered it's energy creating a thin shield around itself.

"Bonnie, shadow ball!" Topaz called out. Bonnie pretended not to listen by looking around the gym and its flora. "Bonnie! Now's not the time for sightseeing!" Topaz yelled out annoyed.

"Razor leaf, now!" Gardenia commanded taking full advantage of the Misdreavus' unresponsive state. Turtwig shot a flurry of leaves damaging Bonnie.

"Damn it! Bonnie, use shadow ball!" Topaz yelled out, getting frustrated. Bonnie stared down her trainer, continuing to disobey her.

"Razor leaf again! Don't let them recover!" the gym leader again, Turtwig sent out another wave of razor leaves.

Bonnie managed to dodge the razor leaf by simply loafing around on the ground.

Topaz stared at her Pokémon in disbelief. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be mad that Bonnie was loafing around or happy that the attack missed. Either way, she had enough.

"Bonnie, would you stop whatever you're doing and listen?! Shadow ball!" Bonnie was at her own wits end and finally decided to attack. She started floating and stared down the Turtwig. Turtwig fell down where it stood, taking some sort of damage from the attack.

"Turtwig, stay strong! Use withdraw!" Gardenia told her Turtwig. The Turtwig the withdrew a bit into its shell attempting to rest for a second.

"C'mon, Bonnie! This is your chance to shadow ball!" Topaz called out. For the first time throughout the battle, Bonnie finally listened and launched out a dark purple, glowing sphere at Turtwig.

"Withdraw again, Turtwig!" Gardenia called out to her Pokémon. The shadow ball hit but the Turtwig sat unfazed.

Believing that her Pokémon was finally starting to listen to her, Topaz commanded another attack.

"Bonnie, use psychic!" Apparently, Bonnie's obedience didn't last very long as Bonnie ignored the command and used psywave instead. The attack dealt a great amount of damage to Turtwig.

"Don't give up! Razor leaf!" Turtwig again attacked. This time Bonnie was not as lucky as the razor leaf hit her hard. With that final attack, Topaz finally exploded.

"Enough! Bonnie, you better start listening otherwise you're going to get really hurt! Do you really think I want to see you in pain! Now, listen for your own good and use psychic!" Topaz yelled. Bonnie stared at her trainer, a bit taken back by the harsh yelling. With a look of understanding, Bonnie faced her opponent and did as commanded.

"Oh no you don't! Grass knot!" Gardenia countered. Turtwig sent large blades of grass in an attempt to grab Bonnie. Bonnie, however, quickly dodged out of the way then countered with psychi, hitting the Turtwig and knocking him back.

"Now, finish it with one last psychic!" Topaz called out. Bonnie, having fun beating up the Turtwig, ignored orders and used shadow ball instead. The attack landed and finally knocked out Turtwig. Bonnie let out a happy cry and started dancing around. Topaz let out a sigh. "Well, at least that's over."

"It looks like I was too easy on you. Get ready to face my final Pokémon! Go, Roserade!" bursting onto the field was a single Roserade standing ready for battle.

"Careful, Topaz! With Roserade's poison on play, things can get ugly quick." Sulfur yelled from the stands.

"Yeah, well I'm not planning on battling for much longer." Topaz replied as she recalled Bonnie to her pokéball. "Good job, you." Topaz tossed out Achi's pokéball, ready to finish her battle. "Be ready!"

"Poison sting!" the Roserade quickly began shooting needles at her opponent. Achi attempted to dodge but was not quick enough to dodge the attack completely without getting hit. One needle lodged itself into Achi's arm, managing to poison him.

"Are you kidding me?! It takes Rose forever to active her ability, but a single poison sting poisons?! Ember, let's go!" Topaz yelled. She had finally given up.

The ember burned Roserade slightly while attempting to dodge the attack.

"Poison sting again! Don't let them get close!" Roserade backed off and used poison sting again, attempting to weaken the Monferno.

"Counter with ember!" Topaz shouted out. Achi launched out his fiery attack but still took damage from the poison. The attack landed nothing else happened. "Well, our cheesy burn tatic isn't going to working again." Topaz noted.

"Keep them from moving, Roserade! Grass knot!" Roserade used a similar tactic to her fallen comrades and sent blades of grass tripping the fire type. "While it's down! Use poison sting!"

"Get out of there with flame wheel!" Achi sent out fire from his mouth and was quickly engulfed in a ball of fire, burning away the blades of grass trapping him. The ball then traveled towards Roserade, causing much more damage than ember.

"Poison sting! It can't hold out much longer!" Gardenia yelled out. Roserade quickly regained her balance and began to fire her poison sting again.

"Oh no, I'm not done yet. Flamewheel, let's go!" Achi sent out fire once more and moved quickly towards Roserade, burning away all the poison stings in his path. The fiery attack landed and Roserade fell to the ground defeated. Topaz let out a sigh and happiness began to fill her body. She let out a laugh and pointed towards Sulfur. "HA! In your face, Goldie! First try! You can't beat that! Hahaha!"

"Did I not beat the first gym on the first try? As well as actually having control of my Pokémon? You got lucky, Rocky." Sulfur lectured, Ren giggling next to him.

Topaz took in a deep breath and let out the air through her nose.

"You know what? It would be nice if you gave some support and by that, I mean the silent kind." Topaz replied.

"Congratulations, you managed to beat my gym." Gardenia interrupted. "Though I wish I could of seen more of that adorable Budew you had! Oh well, here is your badge!" Gardenia handed a green badge, signifying Topaz's victory.

"Thank you." Topaz smiled and placed her new badge in her case. She picked up Rose and walked out of the gym.

"You got lucky, Rocky, you got lucky." With that, Sulfur headed out of the gym following Topaz.


End file.
